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COPYRfGHT DEPOSm 



THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 



The 

Fireless Cook Book 

A Manual of the Construction and Use of 
AppHances for Cooking by Retained Heat 

WITH 250 RECIPES 



By 
MARGARET J. MITCHELL 

Author of "Cereal Foods and Their Preparation"; formerly Dietitian 

of Manhattan State Hospital, New York ; Director of 

Domestic Science in Public Schools, Bradford, Pa.; 

Instructor in Domestic Science, Drexel 

Institute, Philadelphia, Pa. 




New York 

Doubleday, Page & Company 

1909 



o. 



\ 



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V 



ALL EIGHTS BESERVED, INCLUDING THAT OF TRANSLATION 
INTO FOREIGN LANGUAGES, INCLUDING THE SCANDINAVIAN 



COPYRIGHT, 1909, BY DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY 
PUBLISHED, MAY, I909 



[LIBRARY Of CONGRESS 
Two Copies Received 

Copyright Entry ^ 



Assistance is gratefully acknowledged from Mr. Abra- 
ham Henwood, Professor of Chemistry at Drexel Institute, 
who supplied valuable information and revised the chem- 
istry in the Appendix. 

Thanks are also due to Mrs. Runyon, manager of the 
lunch room in the Buffalo Chamber of Commerce, and to 
Miss Armstrong, director of the Drexel Institute Lunch 
Room, for information furnished by them upon the subject 
of fireless cookery with large quantities ; and to many 
others who have aided the author by advice, information, 
and encouragement. 



PREFACE 

The aim of this book is to present in a con- 
venient form such directions for making and 
using fireless cookers and similar insulating 
boxes, that those who are not experienced, even 
in the ordinary methods of cookery, may be able 
to follow them easily and with success. The 
fact that their management has been so little 
understood has been the cause of failures among 
the adventurous women who, attracted by their 
novelty, have tried to experiment with them and 
have come to the mistaken conclusion that they 
are not practical, have limited scope, and are 
altogether a good deal of a disappointment. Such 
women have made the statement that they are 
not adapted to cooking starchy foods; that they 
will not do for most vegetables; that raised breads 
and puddings cannot be cooked in them, and that 
there is little economy in using them! It has 
invariably been found, however, that a better 
understanding of their management has resulted 
in complete success, followed inevitably by 
enthusiasm. 

The first few chapters of the book give directions 



viii THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

for making and using a cooker, methods of 
measuring, and some tables for quick reference, 
followed by a large number of frequently tested 
recipes, some of which are entirely original, but 
many of which are based on the well-tried recipes 
from such books as Miss Farmer's " Boston 
Cooking School Cook Book," Mrs. I/incoln's 
"Boston Cook Book," Miss Smedley's "Institu- 
tion Recipes," and Miss Ronald's "Century 
Cook Book," somewhat modified and adapted 
to hay-box cookery. "The Fireless Cooker," 
by Lovewell, Whittemore, and Lvon, has furnished 
some excellent ideas, such as the refrigerating 
box and home-made insulated oven and insulating 
pail, which have been elaborated in this book. 
Miss Huntington's bulletin, "The Fireless 
Cooker," has also been suggestive of a number 
of experiments which are to be found in the 
Appendix. 

The chapter on "Institution Cookery" was 
introduced in the hope that many small institu- 
tions, boarding-house keepers, and those who are 
managing lunch-rooms, would be induced, by 
finding recipes arranged in suitable quantities 
for them, to introduce fireless cookers into their 
kitchens, and benefit by the great saving in labour 
and expense which is specially necessary to those 
who are dependent upon their kitchens for sup- 



iPREFACE IX 

port. When a little experience is gained by using 
them, it will be found that all the other recipes 
in the book can be enlarged without minute 
directions. 

It will be noticed that nearly every recipe in 
the book states how many persons it will serve, 
the idea being that, in spite of the variable quan- 
tities which different people use, this would act 
as a guide to those who wish to plan rather 
closely. Where two numbers are given the vari- 
ation is in proportion to the difference between 
the amount eaten by men and by women. 

The Appendix describes or suggests a series of 
experiments illustrating the scientific as well as 
the practical side of fireless cookery. Many of 
them would be easy for the average housekeeper 
to carry out, and would illuminate the subject 
to an extent which would repay her; but they 
are specially planned for students of household 
economics who have time and opportunity for 
such work, and who are supposed to know more 
than mere methods of housework, and to require 
an explanation of the principles involved. 





CONTENTS 




CHAPTER 




PAGE 


I. 


The Fireless Cooker 


3 


11. 


The Portable Insulating Pail 


32 


III. 


The Refrigerating Box 


36 


IV. 


Cooking for Two 


40 


V. 


Measuring .... 


43 


VI. 


Tables of Weights and Measures 


45 


VIL 


Table of Proportions 


47 


VIII. 


Seasoning and Flavouring Ma- 






terials . . . . 


49 


IX. 


Breakfast Cereals . 




52 


X. 


Soups 




57 


XL 


Fish 




81 


XII. 


Beef 




89 


XIII. 


Lamb and Mutton 




106 


XIV. 


Veal 




114 


XV. 


Pork 




120 


XVI. 


Poultry 




126 


XVII. 


Vegetables 




136 


^VIII. 


Steamed Breads and Puddings 


154 


XIX. 


Fruits ..... 


168 


XX. 


Miscellaneous Recipes 


183 


XXL 


Recipes for the Sick 


. 


195 



xii THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 



XXII. 


Recipes for Cooking in Large 






Quantities 


202 


XXIII. 


The Insulated Oven . 


221 


XXIV. 


Menus .... 


250 




Appendix .... 


257 




Additional Recipes 


277 




Classified Index of Recipes 


297 




Alphabetical Index of Recipes 


■ 3°7 



THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 



The Fireless Cook Book 

I 

THE FIRELESS COOKER 

DOES the idea appeal to you of putting your 
dinner on to cook and then going visiting, 
or to the theatre, or sitting down to read, write, 
or sew, with no further thought for your food 
until it is time to serve it ? It sounds like a fairy- 
tale to say that you can bring food to the boiling 
point, put it into a box of hay, and leave it for a 
few hours, returning to find it cooked, and often 
better cooked than in any other way! Yet it is 
true. Norwegian housewives have known this 
for many years; and some other European nations 
have used the hay-box to a considerable extent, 
although it is only recently that its wonders have 
become rather widely known and talked about in 
America. The original box filled with hay has gone 
through a process of evolution, and become the 
fireless cooker of varied form and adaptability. 
Just what can we expect the fireless cooker to 
do .? What foods will it cook to advantage ? 

3 



4 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

Almost all such dishes as are usually prepared 
by boiling or steaming, as well as many that 
are baked — soups, boiled or braised meats, 
fish, sauces, fruits, vegetables, puddings, eggs, 
in fact, almost everything that does not need to 
be crisp can be cooked in a simple hay-box. 
If the composition of foods and the general 
principles of cookery are well understood, but 
little special instruction will be needed to enable 
one to prepare such dishes with success.; though 
even a novice may use a fireless cooker if the 
general directions and explanations, as well as 
the individual recipes, are carefully read and 
followed. While such dishes as toast, pancakes, 
roast or broiled meats, baked bread and biscuits, 
are impossible to cook in the simpler form 
of hay-box, the insulated oven, the latest 
development of the fireless cooker, opens up 
possibilities that may lead to a much wider adapta- 
tion of home-made insulators to domestic pur- 
poses. Roast meats, however, may first be 
cooked in the oven and completed in the hay-box 
or cooker, or they may be cooked in the hay-box 
till nearly done and then roasted for a short time 
to obtain the crispness which can be given only 
by cooking with great heat. 

During ordinary cooking there is a great loss 
of heat, due to radiation from the cooking utensil 



THE FIRELESS COOKER 5 

and escaping steam. If, however, this heat could 
be retained, the food would continue to cook 
in the absence of fire. This is what occurs in the 
hay-box. Hay, being a poor conductor of heat, 
will, if closely packed around a kettle of boiling 
food, maintain, for a number of hours, a sufficiently 
high temperature to continue the cooking process. 
The familiar practice of using newspapers or 
carpet in keeping ice from melting depends upon 
the same principle. In both cases a material 
which is a poor conductor of heat, when interposed 
between the surrounding air and articles which 
are either colder or hotter than the air, being 
found to preserve their temperature. Other 
materials than hay or papers will act in the same 
way; such, for instance, as excelsior, sawdust, 
wool, mineral wool, and others. A vacuum will 
have the same effect as insulating materials. 
The "Thermos Bottle" and similar inventions, 
which are glass bottles surrounded by a vacuum 
and contained in metal cases, will keep foods 
hot or cold for many hours. If heated with a 
little boiling water before boiling food is poured 
in they will even cook some foods satisfactorily. 
A vacuum is expensive, as it is difficult to obtain, 
and therefore the ordinary fireless cooker is better 
suited to every-day use; but if one of these bottles 
is at hand it may be utilized in cases of illness 



6 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

or on journeys or in other unusual circumstances, 
when a x:ooker is not available. 

The general trend of recent scientific investi- 
gation seems to indicate more and more clearly 
that the prevalent idea that all food m.ust be 
cooked at a high temperature, such as that of 
boihng water (212 degrees Fahrenheit), is a 
mistaken one. Experiments have shown that 
starches are made thoroughly digestible at tem- 
peratures varying from 149 degrees to 185 degrees 
Fahrenheit. Cellulose, the woody fibre of vegetable 
foods, becomes perfectly softened at a temperature 
considerably below 212 degrees, while albuminous 
materials, of which all animal and many vegetable 
foods are largely composed, are not only well- 
cooked at a low temperature, but are decidedly 
more easily digestible than when cooked at the 
higher temperatures of boiling or baking. 

SPECIAL ADVANTAGES OF THE FIRELESS COOKER 

First, its econo?ny, not only of fuel and of space 
on the stove, but of effort, of utensils, and also of 
food materials and flavour. It has been stated 
that 90 per cent, of the fuel used in ordinary 
cooking will be saved by the hay-box. This 
percentage will vary with different housekeepers, 
as some understand the economy of fuel much 
better than others, but there is no doubt that it 



THE FIRELESS COOKER 



7 



is very great when the cooker is used. This is 
especially true when the fuel is gas, kerosene, 
gasolene, or denatured alcohol (possibly the com- 
ing fuel for common use). Where a wood fire 
or, particularly, where a coal fire must be main- 
tained, the fuel saved by the cooker will, mani- 
festly be less than with such fuels as can be 
readily extinguished when their use is over, but 
even in such cases there is some economy of fuel. 
One must use the cooker to realize the saving 
in work that it means. Think what it is to have 
a method of cooking involving no necessity for 
remaining in the kitchen to keep up a fire or watch 
the food ! As most hay-box cooking takes a con- 
siderable length of time, and many articles are 
not specially injured by overcooking, this means 
that foods can often be placed in the box and 
left for hours, while the housekeeper is enabled 
to go out for a day's work, or to occupy her time 
in other ways, with a mind free from all care of 
the meal that is cooking. The user of a hay- 
box will soon find, too, that utensils are not so 
hard to wash after lying in hay as when food 
has been dried or burned on, and as the scraping 
and scouring given to ordinary utensils wears 
them out very fast, there is here also a considerable 
economy of utensils. There is found to be a very 
great saving of food materials on account of 



8 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

"left-over" foods and others that might be 
utilized, if the long cooking which they require 
to make them palatable did not involve such 
expense in the w^ay of fuel as to offset the advan- 
tage of using them, such as in the case of soup 
stock, tougher cuts of meat, etc. Special atten- 
tion is paid in this book to the preparation of a 
variety of cheap foods and "left-overs." 

The absence of heat and odours in the kitchen 
is another of the advantages of this cookery. 
On the hottest summer days a cooker W\\\ not 
increase the heat of the room, while even in a 
living-room, onions, turnips, cabbage, and such 
ill-smelling foods could be cooked with no sus- 
picion of the fact on the part of the family or 
visitors. The fact that a cooker can also be 
made attractive in appearance, and used in 
rooms not ordinarily used for cooking, is of 
interest to some people who are not able to com- 
mand even the ordinary amenities of house- 
keeping life. 

In the matter of flavour there is a distinct 
gain in fireless cookery. Many are familiar, 
by experience or hearsay, with the specially 
delicious flavour of food cooked in primitive ways, 
such as burying the saucepan in a hole in the 
ground, of clambakes, or of cooking food by 
dropping heated stones into the mixture, in which 



THE FIRELESS COOKER 9 

cases the closely covered food is slowly cooked 
at a low temperature. The praises given to such 
cookery are often ascribed to the ^'hunger-sauce" 
that usually accompanies outdoor cookery, but 
not with entire justice, for there is a real difference 
in flavour. 

As it has been well proved that tasteless food 
is less easily or thoroughly digested than food 
which has a good flavour, owing, probably, to 
the fact that high-flavpured food stimulates the 
flow of digestive juices, the advantage lies in 
this respect also with hay-box food over much 
of the ordinary food served. 

The bearing of fireless cookery upon the servant- 
problem might well fill a chapter by itself. Any 
woman who uses this device for a year can 
become eloquent upon this subject. When cook- 
ing no longer ties one to the kitchen, is no longer 
a labour that monopolizes one's time, dishevels 
one's person, and exasperates the temper, the 
cook may go. We shall save her wages, her food, 
her room, and her waste, and have more to spend 
in ways that bring a more satisfactory return. 

DIRECTIONS FOR MAKING A HAY-BOX OR FIRELESS 
COOKER 

The box may be an unpainted one such as can 
be obtained for a few cents from any store where 



10 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

one of suitable size and shape is used, or it may 
be a handsome hardwood chest, or even an old 
trunk. In selecting it, choose one made of suffi- 
ciently heavy boards to admit of having hinges and 
a hasp put on it. If it is to be used in a dining- 
room, or where attractive appearance is to be 
desired, it may be covered with chintz or denim, 
or a coat of paint, if not made of finished hard 
wood. An old ice-box, one that has a hinged 
lid at the top, has been utilized for this purpose 
with success. A barrel makes an excellent hay- 
box, especially for very large kettles, but the 
cover cannot easily be hinged and must, there- 
fore, be weighted to hold it down tight. In 
size the box should be from two to five inches 
larger in every dimension than the kettle it con- 
tains. The kettle is, therefore, the first thing 
to be secured, and full directions for choosing it 
are given on page 13. The next point to con- 
sider is the packing material. When this has 
been chosen, the directions for packing the box, 
given on page 15, will tell how much space must 
be allowed for insulation and, consequently, of 
what size the box must be. If it is so large as to 
admit of more insulation than that absolutely 
required, there is no objection, only a possible 
gain. If it is intended to pack the box with 
more than one utensil this will also have a bearing 



THE FIRELESS COOKER ii 

upon its size. Allow nearly, or quite, double the 
insulation between the utensils that is provided 
on the other sides, otherwise there may be diffi- 
culty in removing one utensil while the other is 
still cooking. 

Hinges and a hasp, or some device to hold 
the cover of the box shut, will be necessary, as 
the packing should be such that there is a little 
upward pressure on the cover. 

A cushion is desirable to cover each kettle used, 
one which is thick enough to fill the hay-box 
after the kettle is in place. For making these 
cushions use muslin, denim, or any thing of the 
kind that is at hand, filling them, generally, with 
the same material as that used in packing the 
box. Shape them like a miniature mattress, 
joining two pieces which are the dimensions of 
the top of the box with a strip which is from two 
and one-half inches to four or five inches wide, 
the width depending upon the material with 
which the cushion is stuffed, some materials 
requiring thicker insulation than others. 

The packing material may be either hay, straw, 
paper, wool, mineral wool, excelsior, ground cork, 
Southern moss, sawdust, or any other non- 
conducting material that is adapted to filling the 
space between the kettle and the box. If hay is 
used, choose soft hay. Wool is, perhaps, the 



12 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 



best heat retainer of those mentioned, and it is 
easy and pleasant to handle. Clean, soft wool 
may be purchased at woollen mills and elsewhere. 
It should cost about thirty-five cents a pound, 




Hay-Box With Two Compartments. 
Partly packed compartment of hay-box, Finished compartment 

showing pail in place for packing. of hay-box. Cushion. 

Cushion. " Space adjuster." Small Large Pail. Pan and 

pail to fit in " space adjuster." cover. 

but as it is very light it requires much less, by 
weight, than of some other cheaper materials. 
Mineral wool can be purchased at large hard- 
ware stores. It costs about five cents a pound, 



THE FIRELESS COOKER 13 

but about five times as many pounds are required 
as an equivalent for wool. Cheap cotton batting 
can be obtained at dry-goods stores; ground cork 
from large grocers. This is used by them as 
packing for grapes or other fancy fruits. Sav^- 
dust, obtainable at sawmills, and perhaps else- 
where, must be well dried before using. Excel- 
sior is used by many kinds of merchants, and can 
be bought for about two cents a pound. Hay 
is plentiful in country places and can also be 
purchased at feed-stores in the cities. Southern 
moss, easily procurable in the Southern States, 
can be found at many upholsterers' in the North 
as well. Newspapers and hair, such as is used 
by plasterers, are available in city and country. 

The utensils. Perhaps the best shape for the 
cooking utensil, that is, one which will have the 
least possible radiating surface, is a pail about 
the depth of its own diameter. The sides should 
be straight and perpendicular to the bottom. 
The cover should fit securely into place. If a 
smaller utensil is to be used inside the large one, 
which is often a great convenience, it must not 
be so high that the cover of the larger pail will 
not go on. A "pudding pan" may be used for 
the inside utensil, resting on the rim of the pail; 
but care must be taken, with this arrangement, 
that a cover is secured that will fit the pan closely. 



14 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

To select the material best adapted for cooker 
utensils one must consider its wearing quality, 
its heat-absorbing power, to some extent, and also 
the action upon it of the water, acids, salts, etc., 
which are found in the foods. For instance, 
iron utensils, as well as most tinware that has 
been used for any length of time, will rust with 
the long subjection to heat and moisture; acids 
will make a disagreeable taste with iron or old 
tin utensils; while acids in such long contact 
with even new tin might also form poisonous 
tin salts in sufficient quantity to be decidedly 
injurious. Earthenware would seem ideal except 
that it is likely to break when over the flame. 
It is desirable that the covers be of the same 
material as the utensil, or of some other rust- 
proof material. It will pay to get the best, when 
buying these kettles, for they will last well, with 
reasonable care, and a poor utensil will soon 
be of no use whatever. Well-enameled iron, 
except for its weight, is good; also the best quality 
of agate ware, ordinary aluminum, or, perhaps 
best of all, for very large utensils at least, cast 
aluminum. Aluminum is expensive, but its hght 
weight, excellently fitting parts, and lasting quali- 
ties commend it above other materials, and it 
will be found to pay in the end. 

The size of the pails will depend to some extent 



THE FIRELESS COOKER 15 

upon the number of people to be served, although 
there is a minimum size? below which there is 
not a sufficient bulk of food to cook well. Under 
the heading "Practical Suggestions on the Use 
of the Fireless Cooker," this matter of quantity- 
is more fully discussed. For a family of five or 
six persons a six-quart pail with a pan to fit inside 
of it has been found satisfactory. It will be con- 
venient to have also a larger pail for large pieces 
of meat, such as hams. 

Method of packing the box. This will vary 
somewhat with the different insulating materials 
used. These may be classified as: 

Those into which the cooking utensil may be 
set without any intervening covering, among 
which are hay, excelsior, and paper. 

Those requiring a covering material to keep 
them in place and to protect them from contact 
with the utensil, among which are wool, mineral 
wool, cork, sawdust, and cotton. 

Boxes to be filled with the first class of insulat- 
ing materials are packed in the following manner: 

Line the box and cover, smoothly, with one 
thickness of heavy paper, or several thicknesses 
of newspaper. This will prevent cold air from 
finding its way through the cracks, and dust and 
pieces from sifting out. Asbestos sheeting also 
makes a good lining. Pack in the bottom of 



i6 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

the box a firm layer of insulating material not 
less than three or four inches in depth. This 
must raise the cooking pail to within from three 
to five inches of the top of the box. Set the 
utensil in the middle of the space allowed for it 
on this layer, and pack around it, very tightly, 
until level with the top of the kettle. When this 
is removed it will be found to have left a hole 
just large enough for it to slip into again. A 
little manipulation will make the rim of this 
pocket less ragged than at first. The cushion 
for boxes packed with excelsior or hay should 
be at least four inches thick. In packing with 
paper, lay first an even layer three or more inches 
thick of folded papers, filling the space around 
the kettle with soft, crumpled papers. In place 
of the top cushion, make a bundle of papers 
folded to just the right size. This can only be 
done when perfectly flat pail covers are used, 
unless a supplementary soft cushion be first laid 
over the pail. 

The box is now ready for cooking, but if, after 
considerable use, the material shrinks so that 
the whole space is not firmly filled, a little more 
may be added. There should always be at 
least a slight pressure when the cover is closed. 
The paper lining described on page 20, while not 
necessary to this class of boxes, is an improvement. 



THE FIRELESS COOKER 



17 



Boxes to be filled with the second class of 
material are packed in the following manner: 

Line the box with a smooth covering of paper or 
asbestos, tacked into place. Pack a layer of 
insulating material, three inches or more in thick- 
ness, in the bottom, laying a piece of heavy 
paper on this. Sew two or three thicknesses of 
pliable cardboard into the form of a cylinder that 
will fit around the utensil loosely. (Fig. No. i.) 





Figure No. i. 
Pasteboard cylinder to fit the pail. 

It must be of the same height as the kettle. Set 
this cooker-pail, surrounded by the cylinder, on 
the layer in the box. Holding the kettle in place 
with one hand, pack tightly around it, to the 
level of the top of the pail. (See page 12.) The 
efficiency of the box depends largely upon this 
packing. Cut a round hole, the size of the cooker 
nest, in a piece of heavy pasteboard, to fit the 
top of the box. Lay this over the packing, so 
that it will cover it completely. The box is now 



i8 



THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 



ready for its cloth lining. To make this, cut three 
pieces of cloth; one to be one-inch or more larger 
than the top of the box, with a round hole cut in 
its centre, one inch smaller than the diameter 
of the cooker-pail (Fig. No. 2:1); another to be a 





Figure No. 2. 
Showing how to cut the cloth pieces for lining a home-made cooker. 

round piece one-inch larger than the diameter 
of the pail (Fig. No. 2:2); and the third to be a 
strip one-inch wider than the height of the pail, 
and long enough to go around it with an inch to 
spare (Fig. No. 2:3). Sew the ends of this strip 



THE FIRELESS COOKER 



19 



together to make a cylinder. Into one end of 
this cyHnder sew the round piece. The other 
end is to be sewed into the large piece, taking in 
each case a half-inch seam. When this is put 
into the box it will line the nest for the kettle, 
and cover the pasteboard which rests on top. 
(Fig. No. 3.) Remove the pail and tack this 




Figure No. 3. 
Showing the cloth lining just about to be placed in the box. 

cloth lining in place, turning in the edges where 
it is tacked to the box. A paper lining may be 
substituted for cloth in the following manner: 
Take a sheet of very heavy paper, at least one 
inch larger in every dimension than the top of 
the box. Draw a circle in the centre of it the 
size of the pail. In the centre of this circle cut 



20 



THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 



a small hole large enough to insert the blade of 
a pair of scissors. From this hole, cut to the 
circle, so as to strike it at intervals of about one 
and one-half inches. (Fig. No. 4.) Fit the paper 
over the top of the packing in the box so that 
this circle will come just over the nest for the pail. 
Put the cooker-pail into the nest and it will 
crease the points down at exactly the right place. 




Figure No. 4. 

Showing the manner of cutting the paper covering 

for a fireless cooker. 



Figure No. 5 shows the cooker completed. A 
paper lining is in some respects to be preferred 
to cloth. It is easy and quick to make and can 
be readily replaced if it becomes soiled. 

With either class of cooker more than one nest 
may be made. It is well, in that case, to have a 
wooden partition put into the box before packing 



THE FIRELESS COOKER 



21 



it, although this is not strictly necessary. Each 
portion of the box can then be packed indepen- 
dently and for utensils of different sizes if desired. 
If possible, when packing a box with mineral 
wool, do the work out of doors, wearing a pair of 




Figure No. 5. 
Showing the paper lining of a fireless cooker in place. 

gloves, as particles from it fly into the air and are 
extremely irritating to the throat and skin. 
Twenty-five pounds of mineral wool will pack 
a nine-quart pail in a box fifteen by fifteen 
inches and eleven inches high. Five pounds of 
wool will pack the same box for using a nine-quart 
pail. If a smaller pail is used, more wool or 
mineral wool will be required. 



22 



THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 



Sawdust is one of the easiest materials to handle. 
It packs easily and does not require a cloth 
covering, heavy paper answering the purpose 
perfectly. Proceed with the packing as for wool 
or mineral wool and such other materials, omitting 
the pasteboard top. In place of this and the 
cloth covering use a paper lining. 

The ''space adjuster'^ is a padded cylinder 
which slips into a cooker pocket and makes a 




" Space adjuster" before it is covered; and small pad 
to fill the space below the pail. 

receiver for a smaller cooker-pail than that for 
which the cooker was packed. It can be made 
by putting together two pasteboard cylinders of 
equal length, one of which will fit rather loosely 
outside of the small pail, and the other of which 
will slip easily into the cooker pocket and line it 
from top to bottom. When the small cylinder is 
stood inside of the larger one the space between 
the two should be firmly packed, preferably with 



THE FIRELESS COOKER 



23 



a soft material such as cotton or wool. To keep 
the filling in place while packing it the cylinder 
may be wound with twine, as shown in the accom- 
panying illustration. It may then be covered 
with a fitted muslin cover. Sew two tabs on this 
cover, with which to lift the space adjuster out. 
When slipped into the cooker pocket, and the 
small pail placed in the new pocket thus formed, 
there will be found to be a space below the pail, 
which may be filled by a round cushion made 
for the purpose. 




Section view of " space adjuster " showing the pail 
and cushion in place. 

Ready-made hay-boxes and fireless cookers 
are to be found on the market, some of which 
have advantages over the home-made article 
along with some disadvantages. First of the 
disadvantages is, perhaps, the cost, the expense 
being considerably greater than for the home- 
made box. Also the choice in the matter of shapes 
and material for the utensils cannot be as great 



24 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

as in home-made boxes, and some of the cookers 
are unpractical in minor details. On the other 
hand, the commercial cookers are ready for use, 
some of them being excellently adapted to their 
purpose, and to many people this would offset 
the cost. Those that are made of metal, on the 
plan of refrigerators, perhaps not boxes at all, 
would appeal to certain housekeepers as likely 
to be more cleanly than upholstered boxes. But, 
as food is always in tightly-covered vessels, and 
as experience has shown that ordinary care will 
prevent anything from being spilled, a hay-box 
having been kept sweet and clean without refilling 
for over a year, the danger of uncleanliness is not 
so great as would at first appear. Doubtless 
where servants are entrusted with the use of the 
cooker there would usually be a greater necessity 
for guarding against untidiness. 

In selecting a ready-made cooker certain points 
should be considered. See that the parts fit 
closely together, are simple and strong in con- 
struction; that there are no seams or pockets in 
the kettles which would be difficult, if not impos- 
sible, to get clean; that the kettles are a suitable 
size, namely, not too large, if they are to cook 
food for a small family, and not too small to ensure 
sufficient heat for proper cooking; and that there 
is no air space over the cover that will not be 



THE FIRELESS COOKER 



25 



filled when the cooker is closed. In the case of 
the metal cookers a round cover with a single 
hinge is a point of weakness, for the cover is not 
sufficiently supported to endure the strain of con- 
stant use. Many of the cookers also use tin very 
considerably, which is objectionable. Doubtless 
there will be constant improvements in these 
inventions, as there is a growing demand for them 
and an increasing intelligence as to their use. 

MATEPIALS NEEDED FOR A HOME-MADE FIRELESS 
COOKER 

A box or barrel (see page 9). 

One pair of strong hinges. 

A hasp. 

Material for stuffing (see page 11). 

One or more large pails (see page 13). 

One or more small pails or pans (see page 13). 

Muslin, i^- yards or more, depending upon the size of the box. 

A cooking thermometer. 

Heavy pasteboard. 

Pliable pasteboard. 

Brown paper. 

Tacks and screws. 

PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS FOR USING A FIRELESS 
COOKER 

While success in using a cooker is reasonably 
sure if directions are clear and detailed, and can 
be followed exactly, yet it is well to understand, 



26 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

in a general way, the conditions of success in 
order that a deviation from directions, if such 
should ever be found necessary, v^ill not mean 
failure. 

As the cooking depends upon the retention of 
heat, it stands to reason that there must be heat 
to retain. A pint of food does not contain as 
much heat as a quart, even though both be of 
the same temperature to begin v^ith. This can 
be demonstrated by setting a pint and a quart 
of boiling v^ater side by side. The pint v^ill lose 
its small amount of heat and grow cold much 
sooner than the quart, with its larger amount. 
After an equal time eight quarts of food in the 
cooker have been found to register 15 degrees 
Fahrenheit higher than one and one-half quarts, 
other conditions being the same. This explains 
the failures of some beginners which are due to 
the fact that such a small quantity of food was 
taken that there was not sufficient heat to begin 
with. Obviously this danger is less with foods 
requiring only a slight cooking, since, even with 
small quantities, some time elapses before the 
food grows too cold to cook at all. 

The total quantity of food is, therefore, seen to 
be an important factor in success. The larger 
the amount of food, the higher the temperature 
will be at the end of a given length of time. Where 



THE FIRELESS COOKER 27 

the amount is very large, as in the case of hotel 
and institution cookery, this gain is so great 
that the time required for cooking is materially 
reduced. 

The proportion between the amount of food and 
the size of the utensil in which it is cooked is 
equally important. Experiments have shown 
that one and one-half quarts of water, in a pail 
just large enough to hold it, will register 15 
degrees Fahrenheit more than the same measure 
of water in a nine-quart pail at the end of an 
hour; while at the end of twelve hours there is 
28 degrees of difference. It is thus seen that a 
well-filled kettle is more likely to cook success- 
fully than one partially filled. When it is impos- 
sible to cook in a smaller pail, and thus avoid 
vacant space in the kettle, the difficulty may, to 
some extent, be offset by using a pan for the food 
with sloping sides and broad rim, such as a 
"pudding pan," which may be set into the 
cooker-pail and, by resting upon its rim, will be 
suspended in it. This arrangement admits of 
fining the lower part of the pail with boiling 
water or with boiling food, in case a second 
kind of food is to be cooked for the same length 
of time. 

Space between the pail and packing material 
is also hkely to be disastrous, so that it is not 



28 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

advisable to try to use a small pail in a "nest" 
made for a large one without the "space adjuster" 
described on page 22. Even the space which 
results after a short use of a newly packed box 
will be sufficient for the escape of some heat 
and should always be filled in. 

Place the cooker near the stove, since it is 
important to transfer the food very quickly from 
one to the other. The cooker should be open, 
the cushion removed and everything in readiness 
before the food is taken from the fire; then, before 
it has time to stop boiling, it should be in place 
in the box. Loss of time at this juncture owing 
to uncertain movements is a fruitful source of 
failure among beginners. 

Keep the box tightly closed from the moment 
the food is put into it until it is entirely done, as 
if for any reason the box is opened before the 
appointed time, the contents must be reheated 
to boiling point before being replaced. 

The time for cooking foods on the stove, previous 
to putting them into the cooker, is usually very 
short. Food in large, solid masses, as ham, pot 
roasts, moulds of bread, etc., must be boiled until 
thoroughly heated to the centre, obviously requir- 
ing longer boiling the larger and denser the 
pieces are. Food that is broken and less com- 
pact will be readily penetrated by heat and will 



THE FIRELESS COOKER 29 

be boiling hot nearly or quite as soon as the 
surrounding water. Such foods need only a 
moment's brisk boiling before being put into 
the cooker. Cereals, although in fine parti- 
cles, easily settle into a dense, impenetrable 
mass during the long period of undisturbed 
cooking, unless boiled until they are slightly 
thickened. 

The length of time for cooking in the cooker 
depends upon several factors: (i) the kind of 
cooker, whether well or ill packed, and whether 
good or poor insulating material is used; (2) 
the skill of the cook in getting the kettle into the 
box quickly; (3) the amount, toughness, density, 
and size of the pieces: (4) whether hard or 
soft water is used. If hard water is used foods 
require more cooking to become tender than 
with soft water. Hard water may be softened, 
however, by the addition of a little baking 
soda. The time given in this book is adapted 
to a home-made cooker, well packed with any 
of the materials suggested in the section giving 
directions for packing the cookers. With some 
commercial cookers a shorter time may be 
sufficient. 

It is frequently stated that few foods are injured 
by overcooking, but while this is true of a great 
many foods, it has not proved to be the case with 



30 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

all. Potatoes, rice, custards, raised mixtures, 
such as dumplings, suet pudding, and brown 
bread, as well as many other foods, are decidedly 
injured by overcooking. The recipes generally 
state the minimum and maximum time which 
each food should have. This information will 
also be found easily accessible in the classified 
index. There is danger in leaving meats or 
soup stock or even cereals in the cooker long 
after they have cooled down, as they will be 
likely to spoil. 

Needless to say, careful reading of all the 
directions given, and following them in every 
particular, will be necessary until one becomes 
well acquainted with this novel method of cookery. 
Mistakes in temperature tests, in measuring, in 
time, and in other conditions, may result in failures, 
which must not be imputed to the cooker, but to 
the cook. 

It will probably not be long, after the first 
experiment with a cooker, before several com- 
partments are fitted up; in which case it is diffi- 
cult to remember what food is in each and at 
what time it is to be removed, since it is left for 
so many hours. To meet this difficulty a slate, 
hung in the kitchen near the box, will be found a 
great convenience. It may be permanently ruled 
and arranged in the form of a table, to be filled 



THE FIRELESS COOKER 



31 



out with pencil. A good form to use is the one 
given below. The compartments may be num- 
bered or described. 



Compartment 


Food 


Time put in 


Time for removal 



















II 

THE PORTABLE INSULATING PAIL 

A CHEAP, portable retainer, for keeping food 
hot or cold on picnics, automobile trips, and 
other outings, will be found a great convenience 
and will fill a long-felt want. Tight-fitting covers, 
fastened in place, will be necessary to keep food 
from spilling; and very cheap, easily obtained 
insulating material should be used for these 
pails, so that in case the packing becomes soiled 
it can be discarded without loss. Newspapers, 
hay, or excelsior are best for the purpose. The 
object in using such pails is not to cook the food, 
though this might be done if the inner pail were 
small enough or the outer pail large enough to 
allow of sufficient insulation, but to keep food 
already cooked, or nearly cooked, at a temperature 
which will make it appetizing. For this purpose 
a couple of inches of insulation, with such 
materials as those suggested, will answer very 
well. If an ordinary fibre or wooden household 
pail is used, this will carry two or three quarts 
of food. Take for the inner utensil one just 

32 



PORTABLE INSULATING PAIL 33 

large enough to hold the food, and pack the outer 
pail to accommodate it, like any hay-box or 
cooker. If designed for frequent use it will pay 
to make a fitted cushion, but for a single occasion 
it will not be worth while to take this trouble. 
Any small cushion or pillow can be used, merely 
turning the corners under, if it is square. In 
order to protect it from danger of becoming 
soiled, lay a number of thicknesses of newspaper 
over the inner pail before putting on the cushion. 
Be careful to pack it so that the cushion will fill 
the upper space completely. A cover must be 
found for the outer pail, and if a wooden cover 
is not at hand, a round tray or large kettle cover 
that will fit it may be utilized. A butter pail, 
tin pail or candy pail will have its own cover. 

To fasten the covers on, tie a loose slip-knot 
in the middle of a piece of very strong twine (Fig. 
No. 6:1); before pulling it up tight, slip the noose 
over the cover of the pail and draw the remainder 
of the knot out till it is loose enough to go around 
the pail. If it is placed under the rim near the 
top of the utensil, or under the fastenings of the 
handle, it will be held by them from slipping off. 
Then draw the knot up tight, and tie the two 
ends of twine over the top. (Fig. No 6:2.) For 
greater safety, especially on the outer pail, it will 
be well to use two such strings, placing the loops 



34 



THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 



at right angles to one another. Soft copper wire 
might be used for this purpose instead of twine. 
When the food is in the inner pail, tie on the 
cover, put it again on the fire until it is boiling hot, 





Figure No. 6. 
I. Method of tying slip-knot. 2. Method of tying the cover on a pail. 

and place it quickly in the insulating pail. More 
than one kettle of food may be placed in the pail 
if there is room. Food thus insulated will keep 
hot for hours, even in cold weather. 

Obviously, this arrangement will work equally 
well in keeping cold foods cool in summer, such as 



PORTABLE INSULATING PAIL 35 

ice water, or cool drinks. Even frozen creams 
and ices, if packed well in a mould, covered tin 
pail or can, sealed and surrounded with a small 
quantity of ice and salt, and the whole thus 
insulated, will keep for many hours. To seal 
the mould, dip a narrow strip of muslin in melted 
fat and lay it quickly over the crack between the 
cover and mould. 



Ill 

THE REFRIGERATING BOX 

/\S WE have seen in the case of the insulating 
IjL pail, the principle involved in cooking 
by retained heat may be reversed, and the heat 
may, by similar means, be excluded from foods 
which are to be kept cold. Ice-boxes and refrig- 
erators are made with this end in view. They 
are constructed with heavy walls, usually, if not 
always, with an interlining of some non-conducting 
material, to exclude the heat of the atmosphere. 
Where such an article is needed permanently, 
or for large quantities of food, the various refrig- 
erators on the market are better adapted to the 
purpose than a home-made box. But, in cases 
of temporary necessity or to supplement a refrig- 
erator, the home-made refrigerating box will 
doubtless find a use. Ingenuity will suggest 
variations in the manner of applying the principle 
of insulation to keeping foods cold, but by way 
of suggestion two forms of refrigerating boxes 
are described below. 

Take three or more stoneware crocks with 
36 



THE REFRIGERATING BOX 



37 



well-fitting covers of the same material. The 
size of the crocks must be determined by the 
quantity of food to be kept. Good results in 
the way of temperatures have been obtained with 
those holding a half gallon, but the amount of 
food accommodated in them is, of course, small. 




Refrigerating box packed with three crocks. 

Proceed exactly as for packing a cooker, except 
that the crocks must be set in place so that all 
of them touch the central one, which is to be 
filled with ice. 

Although any insulating material suitable for 
cookers will answer for a refrigerating box, saw- 
dust will be found the easiest to handle, for the 



38 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

reason that its fine particles will more readily 
fill the acute angles between the crocks, which 
must be carefully packed or the insulation is not 
complete. It will be best to make one narrow 
cushion that may remain in place over the central 
crock, except when the ice is to be renewed, and 
two others, each of which can be removed singly 
when the crock under it is to be opened. Put 
the food into dishes or pails that can be removed 
with it and washed. This will obviate the 
necessity for taking out the crocks frequently 
and will mean a considerable saving of ice. In 
lieu of one solid piece of ice, broken pieces will 
be found to answer excellently. Fill the ice- 
crock as full as possible, and do not open it until 
it needs refilling. A little observation of your own 
individual box will be necessary to tell you just 
how long your crock of ice will last. It will 
probably be safe, in any case, to leave it two full 
days after filling it before opening it. If no 
foods that have not been reasonably cooled are 
put into the refrigerating box it is possible that 
the ice may last three or four days. 

Aside from the efficiency of the insulation, the 
consumption of ice will depend largely upon the 
amount and temperature of the food in the other 
crocks and the frequency with which they are 
opened to the warm outside air; therefore chose 



THE REFRIGERATING BOX 39 

as cool a place as possible for the box to stand, 
and open it only when necessary. Try to think 
of all the articles you want from it before taking 
off the cushion. Better results in the way of 
temperature can be obtained with these boxes 
than with many commercial refrigerators, although 
the skill and care in using either will be a large 
factor in the economy of ice. When it is necessary 
to open the box, let it be for as brief a time as 
possible, as every moment that it is open means 
an increase of temperature and, consequently, a 
loss of ice. 

Another variety of refrigerating box may be 
made by thoroughly insulating a tin pail partly 
filled with ice, or a bread box, containing a crock 
for ice. Allow the same amount of insulation 
as that called for with the various packing 
materials used for hay-boxes or cookers, and 
pack them similarly. It will not often be neces- 
sary to remove the inner box if care is taken in 
handling the dishes of food; but when it is to be 
scalded, take it out, wash it well, boil or scald it 
with soda and water, and cool it again before 
replacing it in the packing. 



IV 
COOKING FOR TWO 

WHILE the fireless cooker is, perhaps, 
especially adapted to families of average 
size, or larger, there is no reason why small 
quantities of food cannot be equally well cooked, 
provided the cooker is properly made with that 
in view. 

A large utensil will involve a great waste of 
gas and time, for in every case it will be necessary 
to heat a considerable quantity of water which 
is only required to fill the utensil. Select, instead, 
a two-quart pail, pack it very tightly in a mod- 
erately small box, allowing, however, the requisite 
thickness of insulation (see page i6). This will 
be suitable for much of the cooking to be done, 
such as vegetables, steamed breads, etc., that are 
cooked in much water; but for such articles as 
oatmeal, stews, puddings, and some vegetables, 
use a small pudding pan, just fitting into the pail 
and resting on its rim, with a cover that will 
closely fit the pan. The pail must always be 
filled with boihng water or food to touch the upper 

40 



COOKING FOR TWO 41 

pan, and if these conditions are fulfilled and the 
food is put quickly, and while boiling hard, into 
a cooker which stands close to the range, it will 
be found to cook as perfectly as larger amounts. 
Two kinds of food can thus be cooked at once, 
but, when only water is used in the lower pail, 
it can be kept in the cooker during the meal, 
and will be hot when the time comes for washing 
the dishes. 

The fact that almost all the recipes in this 
book tell the number of persons which they will 
serve will make the quantity to be cooked easy 
to ascertain. Where articles are to be cooked 
in moulds, as steamed breads, puddings, meat 
loaves, etc., one-half pound baking powder cans 
may be used. It will be safer to test them to see 
whether or not they leak. The only change 
in the method of cooking such dishes that will 
then be necessary is shortening the time of boiling 
previous to putting them into the cooker. Small 
cuts of meat will also require shorter preliminary 
boiling. One-half the time given will be found 
sufficient. The great majority of dishes may 
be cooked as directed in the full-sized recipes, 
without any change on account of the small 
quantity. 

For such purposes as preserving and baking 
(see page 228), a large pail will be needed, even 



42 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

by a family of two, and it is suggested that the 
cooker be packed first to accommodate such a 
pail, and the box then be made to receive also 
the two-quart pail by means of the space-adjuster 
described on page 22. 



V 

MEASURING 

ALL measurements given in this book are 
IjL made in standard half-pint cups, table- 
spoons, teaspoons, quarts, pecks, etc. The dry 
materials are leveled even with the top of the cup, 
spoon, or other measure by filling it heaping full, 
then pushing off with a knife that which lies above 
the top. When held level with the eyes, nothing 
should be seen above the cup or spoon, and yet 
the receptacle should be completely filled. Where 
standard cups, with divisions in thirds and 
quarters, are not to be obtained, it will be better 
to use a straight-sided glass if one can be found 
which holds an exact half-pint. It will be easier 
to get an accurate half or third of a cupful in such 
a measure than in one which grows smaller at 
the bottom, as most cups do. A cupful or spoon- 
ful of liquid is all that they can be made to hold. 

Such materials as flour, powdered sugar, mus- 
tard, meal, and others, that pack as they stand, 
should first be sifted or stirred up, and must 
have any lumps pressed out. Do not shake 

43 



44 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

such materials to level them, or they will settle 
and the measure will be incorrect. Half cup- 
fuls or other fractions of a cupful of dry mate- 
rial, fat, etc., may be leveled with the back of 
a tablespoon. 

To measure fractions of a spoonful, whether 
a teaspoon or a tablespoon, fill the spoon, level it, 
then with a knife divide halves lengthwise of 
the spoon; quarters crosswise of the halves; 
eighths by dividing these in halves; thirds 
crosswise; and sixths by dividing the spoon 
first in halves, then in thirds across the halves. 



VI 

TABLE OF WEIGHTS AND MEASURES 

2 Cupfuls of granulated sugar equals i pound 

I Tablespoonful granulated sugar equals § ounce 

2§ Cupfuls of powdered sugar .... equals i pound 

2§ Cupfuls of brown sugar equals i pound 

3^ Cupfuls of bread flour not shaken down equals i pound 

I Cupful of bread flour equals 5 ounces 

3^ Tablespoonfuls flour equals i ounce 

1 Pint of milk or water equals i pound 

2 Cupfuls of solidly packed butter equals i pound 

2 Tablespoonfuls butter equals i ounce 

2 Cupfuls of solidly packed lard equals i pound 

2 Cupfuls of chopped meat .... equals I pound 

if Cupfuls of rice equals i pound 

I Cupful of rice equals 8^ ounces 

I Cupful of raisins equals 7 ounces 

2^ Cupfuls of raisins equals I pound 

3^^ Cupfuls of currants equals i pound 

1 Cupful of currants equals 5 ounces 

2 Cupfuls of hominy grits equals i pound 

2 Cupfuls of samp equals i pound 

I Cupful of split peas equals 8 ounces 

I Cupful of dried beans equals 7^ ounces 

I Quart of bread crumbs equals 7 ounces 

I Cupful peanuts, chopped .... equals 5^ ounces 

I Cupful prunes equals 6^ ounces 

45 



46 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

I Cupful dried apricots or peaches . equals 6 

I Cupful macaroni equals | 

I Cupful oatmeal equals 4 

I Cupful cornmeal equals 6 

8 Medium-sized eggs in shells . . equals i 

I Medium-sized egg in shell .... equals 2 

10 Medium-sized eggs (broken) . . . equals i 

I Cup almonds, blanched and chopped . equals 5 

I Square Baker's chocolate .... equals i 

2J Tablespoons salt equals i 

4 Tablespoons pepper equals i 

2§ Tablespoons ground ginger .... equals i 

2 J Tablespoons ground cinnamon. . . equals i 



ounces 

pound 

ounces 

ounces 

pound 

ounces 

pound 

ounces 

ounce 

ounce 

ounce 

ounce 

ounce 



VII 
TABLE OF PROPORTIONS 

Batters; i cupful liquid to i cupful flour. 

Muffin or cake dough; i cupful liquid to 2 cupfuls flour. 

Dough to knead; i cupful liquid to 3 cupfuls flour. 

Dough to roll out; i cupful liquid to 4 cupfuls flour. 

6 teaspoonfuls baking-powder to i quart flour, if no eggs 

are used; or 
I J teaspoonfuls baking-powder to i cupful flour. 
J teaspoonful soda and i teaspoonful cream of tartar is about 

equivalent to 2 teaspoonfuls baking-powder. 
I cup liquid yeast equals ^ dry yeast cake, and ^ compressed 

yeast cake. 
I cupful liquid yeast, i dry yeast cake, or ^ compressed yeast 

cake to i pint liquid if bread is raised during the day. 
I cupful liquid yeast, ^ dry yeast cake, or | compressed yeast 

cake to i pint liquid if bread is raised over night. 
I^ teaspoonfuls soda to i pint thick, sour milk, 
i^ teaspoonfuls soda to i pint molasses. 
I teaspoonful soda to i^ cupfuls thick, sour cream. 
^ cupful corn-starch to i quart milk for blanc-mange. 

1 teaspoonful salt to i quart soup stock, sauces, etc. 
^ teaspoonful pepper to each teaspoonful salt. 

2 to 4 egg yolks to i pint milk for soft custards. 
2 or 3 whole eggs to i pint milk for cup custards. 

I teaspoonful salt to i quart water for boihng vegetables, 
meats, etc. 

47 



48 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

2 tablespoonfuls flour to i cup liquid for white sauces and 

gravies. 

3 tablespoonfuls flour to i cup liquid for brown sauces. 
Whites of 8 eggs make i cupful. 

3 teaspoons equal i tablespoon. 
l6 tablespoons equal i cup. 
2 cups equal i pint. 



VIII 

SEASONING AND FLAVOURING MATE- 
RIALS 

HAVING always to substitute a familiar 
and time-worn flavouring, which is in 
the house, for the newer and particular flavour 
called for and required to give the distinctive 
"tang" to a dish, is what gives some people's 
cooking a monotony that is no easier or less 
expensive to produce than a variety, if only 
the kitchen is as well supplied as it might be. 
Many different recipes can be made, using the 
same ingredients as a basis, by changing the 
flavouring, as in stews, cakes, etc. Macaroni and 
rice admit of a wide range of variation. 

For the housekeeper who does not want all 
her cooking to taste alike, it will be found con- 
venient to have always on hand a variety of 
flavouring and seasoning materials. A list is 
given below of the ones frequently called upon 
in this book; those which are commonly used 
in sweet dishes being grouped together, and 
those used in savoury dishes, such as soups, 

49 



50 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

stews, etc., although in some cases these are 
used interchangeably: 

Flavourings for Sweet Dishes 

Vanilla bean or extract Cloves 

Almond extract Nutmeg 

Orange rind and juice Allspice 

Lemon rind and juice Ginger 

Cinnamon Wine 

Seasonings for Savoury Dishes 

Pepper Thyme 

Cayenne Bay leaves 

Curry powder Worcestershire sauce 

Sage Parsley 

Summer savoury Celery seed 

Sv^eet marjoram Celery leaves 
Dried peppers 

Many of these can be prepared at almost 
no cost, and put away in tin cans or boxes, either 
whole or powdered with a mortar and pestle. 
The leaves of celery and parsley, the herbs and 
peppers may be washed well and hung near 
the kitchen stove or in the sun, if they can be 
kept free from dust and flies out of doors, or 
put into a warming oven. Orange and lemon 
rind make good flavourings for puddings and 
cakes, if correctly prepared, to vary the mono- 
tony of perpetual vanilla. The yellow part only 
of the rind should be grated, for cakes, or shaved 
off* with a knife for custards and puddings, 



SEASONING AND FLAVOURING 51 

which can be strained to take out the pieces. 
Caramel is easy to make, and is useful in cus- 
tards and creams. 

To make caramel. Melt one cupful of sugar 
with one tablespoonful of water, in a frying- 
pan. Stir it constantly until it is a golden brown 
colour, add one-half cupful of water, one-half 
at a time. The sugar becomes very hot, and, 
if only a small amount of water is added, it does 
not cool it enough and will be so quickly turned 
to steam as to have almost the effect of exploding. 
If the sugar is allowed to become dark brown 
it will taste bitter. Such caramel is sometimes 
used to color gravies, but is not sufficiently 
delicate in taste for flavouring purposes. 

Avoid using the same seasonings in every 
dish. It is better to put only a few flavours 
together for each dish than to mingle a great 
many and be obliged always to use the same. 
It is a good general principle, where several 
flavours are combined, to keep all somewhat 
equally balanced so that no one is conspicuously 
present. Public opinion seems to agree that 
the skilful cook is the one who makes some- 
thing good, "but you can't tell what's in it." 
This is done chiefly by the careful selection 
and equalizing of flavouring ingredients. 



IX 

BREAKFAST CEREALS 

THAT so cheap and easy a food to pre- 
pare as cereals should so often be 
unappetizing, and even indigestible, because of 
poor cooking, is partly due to ignorance of 
the great improvement in flavour which long 
cooking gives them, and partly to the diffi- 
culties attending such long cooking. No one 
v^ants to rise two hours before breakfast to 
cook a cereal which is advertised on the 
package to cook in ten minutes or less, and 
those who do not have coal fires burning 
through the night are somewhat at a loss to 
know how to keep cereals cooking over night. 
The fireless cooker seems to fill a long-felt want 
in this direction. At the cost of a fraction of 
a cent for fuel it accomplishes an all-night 
cooking without danger of scorching, boiling 
dry, or needing to be stirred. The fallacious 
idea that boiling temperature is necessary for 
cooking starches and starchy foods has been 
proved false. As a matter of fact, a temperature 

52 



BREAKFAST CEREALS 53 

of 167 degrees Fahrenheit is sufficient for the 
starch grains of some cereals, while long-con- 
tinued cooking at much below boiling point 
will serve to soften and rupture the woody 
fibre which surrounds and entangles the starch 
and other nutrients. The nitrogenous or tissue- 
forming substance is probably rendered less 
easily digestible by boiling, and is perfectly 
cooked at a temperature which will cook the 
starches. Merely reaching these temperatures 
for a short time is not sufficient, however, to 
produce well-cooked cereals. A further change 
affecting the flavour, and perhaps the digestibility, 
is accomplished by long cooking. 

The length of time required depends upon 
the amount and character of the woody fibre, 
whether the grains are left whole or ground 
fine, and the degree of cooking they may have 
had in the course of manufacture. Rolled oats 
and wheat are steamed to some extent, and do 
not, therefore, require as much cooking as whole 
or cracked wheat and oats. Preparations of 
corn, having more woody fibre than any of the 
other cereals, will, unless cooked during manu- 
facture, require more cooking than equally finely 
ground preparations from other cereals. Rice 
requires the least cooking of all, as it contains 
the least woody fibre. 



54 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

Rolled Oats 

2 J cups water I teaspoon salt 

I cup rolled oats 

Look over the oats and remove any husks or 
pieces. Put v^ater, salt, and oats in a pan, or 
pail that fits into a cooker-pail, boil them for 
five minutes, or until slightly thickened, stir- 
ring them frequently, then put the pan over a 
cooker-pail of boiling w^ater and put it into a 
cooker for from two to twelve hours. Although 
soft and digestible after two hours, it is greatly 
improved in flavour by longer cooking. If 
cooked over night it will need to be heated, 
somewhat, before serving. This can be done 
by putting it over the fire while still in the cooker- 
pail of water. When the water in the pail boils, 
the oatmeal may be served. 

Serves four persons. 

Cornmeal Mush 

4 cups boiling water i cup cornmeal 

I teaspoon salt ^ cup cold water 

Mix the meal with the cold water, add it to 
the boihng salted water; let it boil five minutes, 
stirring it frequently, then set it in a cooker-pail 
of boiling water and put it into a cooker for 
from five to ten hours. If the mush is to be 
used for frying, use two cupfuls of milk and 



BREAKFAST CEREALS 55 

two cupfuls of water, reserving one-half cupful 
of the milk cold to mix with the cornmeal. 
When cooked, pour it into a wet bread pan, 
and slice it when perfectly cold. If coarsely 
ground meal is used, sift it through a coarse 
sieve before cooking it, to remove the largest 
particles of bran. Granulated meal will not 
require sifting. 

Serves six or eight persons. 

Hominy Grits 

5 cups water l^ teaspoons salt 

I cup hominy grits 

Add the hominy to the boiling salted water, 
boil it for ten minutes, and put it into a cooker 
for ten hours or more. 

Serves six or eight persons. 

Cracked Wheat 

i cup wheat ^teaspoon salt 

I cup cold water 2 cups boiling water 

Soak the cracked wheat in the cold water for 
nine hours or more; add the boiling water and 
salt, and let all boil hard for ten minutes in an 
uncovered pan. Place the utensil in a cooker- 
pail of boiling water and put it into a cooker 
for ten hours. Reheat it to the boiling point 
and cook it again for ten hours. 

Serves four or five persons. 



56 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

Steel Cut Oatmeal 

^ cup oatmeal ^ teaspoon salt 

I cup cold water 2 cups boiling water 

Cook it in the same manner as cracked wheat. 
Serves four or five persons. 

Pettijohn's Breakfast Food 

2^ cups water i teaspoon salt 

I cup Pettijohn's Breakfast Food 

Add the salt and cereal to the cold water, 
stir until it boils, boil it for five minutes, or until 
it has thickened, and put it into a cooker for 
from two to twelve hours. It is improved by 
the longer cooking. 

Serves four or five persons 

Cream of ^A^heat 

3^ cups boiling water i teaspoon salt 

^ cup cream of wheat 

Put all together, stir until boiling, and put it 
into a cooker for from one to twelve hours. 
Serves four or five persons. 

Wheatlet 
Cook it in the same way as cream of wheat. 

Farina 
Cook it in the same way as cream of wheat. 



X 

SOUPS 

THERE are two classes of soup, (i) those 
made with meat stock, which is the water 
in which meat has been cooked, sometimes in 
combination with other materials for seasoning 
purposes, and (2) those made without meat 
stock. 

Soups made with meat stock include: 

Bouillon, made from lean beef, always served 
clear; or from clams. 

Brown stock, made usually from beef, pre- 
ferably one-half lean and one-half bone and 
fat, with seasonings of vegetables, herbs, and 
spices. 

White stock, made from chicken or veal. 

Consomme, made from several kinds of meat, 
seasoned highly with vegetables, herbs, and spices, 
and always served clear. 

Broths or beef tea, made usually from lean 
mutton, lamb, or beef, and not clarified. 

Soups made without meat stock include: 

Cream soups, made from vegetable or fish 
57 



58 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

stock with milk or cream and somewhat thickened 
with flour or corn-starch. 

Purees, made from vegetables or fish put through 
a strainer, often with the addition of milk or 
cream. They also are thickened with flour or 
corn-starch and are usually thicker than cream 
soups. White stock also is sometimes used in 
purees. 

Bisques are made like purees, except that 
pieces of vegetables, fish, meat, or game are served 
in them in addition. 

SOUP MAKING 

To make stock. Wash and cut the meat into 
small pieces or gash it frequently; crack the bone; 
let meat and bone soak in the cold water while 
preparing the seasonings; then add the season- 
ings, boil the stock ten minutes and put it into 
a cooker for from nine to twelve hours. When 
cooked, pour it through a wire strainer and set it 
away to cool. When cold, it should be kept in a 
refrigerator or other cold place. Be careful that 
the pail is well filled, or the soup will cool with 
the long cooking and may sour. If too small a 
quantity is cooked to fill the pail or pan it should 
be set over hot water. The cake of fat which 
forms on top when the stock is cold should not be 
removed until the soup is to be made, as it seals 



SOUPS 



59 



the stock and keeps out air and germs, thus help- 
ing to preserve it. When soup is to be made, the 
fat is taken off, the stock heated, and any desired 
seasonings or additions are put in. 

To clear soup stock. Remove the fat, taste the 
stock, and if it needs more seasoning add it before 
the clearing. Put into each quart of the cold 
stock the slightly beaten v^hite of one egg and one 
crushed egg-shell. Wash the egg before breaking 
it. Stir the stock constantly while heating it. 
Let it boil tv^o minutes and set it in a cooker 
for one-half hour or more. Remove the scum 
and strain it through tv^o thicknesses of cheese- 
cloth laid in a colander. 

To remove fat from hot soup or broth. Skim 
off all that can be taken off with a spoon. With 
a succession of small pieces of soft brown paper 
take off the rest as if you were using blotting 
paper on the surface of the soup. When no 
spotted appearance is seen on the papers, the fat 
is all removed. 

To bind soups. This name is given to the 
process of thickening cream soups and purees, 
the liquid and solid part of which would separate 
unless bound together. Melt the butter, and 
when it is liquid add usually an equal quantity 
of flour and rub them together till well blended. 
They are then added to the soup and stirred 



6o THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

constantly till perfectly mixed. If the proportion 
of flour is greater than that of the butter it will 
be better to add a little of the soup to the flour 
and butter in a separate saucepan as for making 
white sauce, and when enough has been added 
to make a smooth sauce, it may be poured into 
the soup. 

Brown Stock No. i 
3 lbs. shin of beef i sprig sweet marjoram 

3 qts. cold water 2 sprigs parsley 

^ teaspoon peppercorns h cup carrot 

6 cloves ^ cup turnip 

^ bay leaf ^ cup celery 

3 sprigs thyme • § cup onion 

I tablespoon salt 

Prepare the meat as directed for making stock, 
brown one-third of it in a frying pan with the 
fat. Wash the vegetables, scrape or pare them, 
and cut them in small pieces. Put all the ingre- 
dients together and bring them to a boil. When 
they have boiled for ten minutes put them into 
a cooker for from nine to twelve hours. Unless 
there is a large quantity of soup it is not safe 
to leave it more than twelve hours, lest it 
grow cold and sour; but nine or more quarts 
may safely be left for fifteen hours or more, 
provided the kettle is at least two-thirds full. 
Pour it through a wire strainer and cool it as 
rapidly as possible. 



SOUPS 6i 

Brown Stock No. 2 

l^ lbs. meat and bone, raw 3 sprigs parsley 

or cooked | cup carrot 
1 1 qts. water J cup turnip 

6 peppercorns ^ cup onion 

3 cloves J cup celery 
^ teaspoon shaved lemon rind i teaspoon salt 

Do not use salt or smoked meats for soup 
stock, or any parts of meat which have become 
charred or blackened in the cooking. Very little 
of these would be enough to destroy the good 
flavour of soup. 

Cut from the bones all the meat that is easy 
to get off. Tough ends from steak or roasts 
should be cut off before they are cooked, and 
saved for soup or stews. Cut meat for making 
soup in small pieces. Separate the bones at the 
joints and crack them if they are large. Soak the 
meat in the water while preparing the seasoning. 
Put all the ingredients together and bring them to a 
boil. Boil them for ten minutes and put them 
into a cooker for from nine to twelve hours, 
standing the pan or pail in a large pail of boil- 
ing water, unless this recipe fills the cooker pail. 
Strain the stock through a wire strainer, and 
cool it as rapidly as possible. 

White Stock No. i 

I chicken or fowl Water to cover the chicken 

Salt (1 teaspoon to i qt. water) 



62 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

Cook chicken or fowl according to the directions 
given on page 131 for stewed chicken. The water in 
which the chicken was cooked makes white stock. 

White Stock No. 2 

2 lbs. knuckle of veal 12 peppercorns 

2 qts. cold water ^ cup celery or i tea- 

1 tablespoon salt spoon celery seed 

I onion 

Prepare the meat as directed for making 
stock. Pare and slice the onion; cut the celery 
in pieces. If celery cannot easily be obtained, 
substitute dried celery leaves, using three or 
four sprays, or use celery seed. 

Put all the ingredients together, let them boil 
for ten minutes, and put them into a cooker for 
from nine to twelve hours. Set the pail or pan 
in a larger cooker -pail of boiling water unless 
the soup nearly fills the cooker-pail. 

Bouillon 

3 lbs. lean beef from round or i tablespoon salt 

shoulder | cup carrot 

2 lbs. marrow bone ^ cup onion 

3 qts. cold water § cup turnip 
I teaspoon peppercorns | cup celery 

Prepare the meat as directed for making 
brown stock. Use the marrow fat for browning 
the meat. Boil all together for ten minutes 
and put them into a cooker for from nine to 



SOUPS 63 

twelve hours. Strain the stock through a wire 
strainer and cool it. When cold, remove the 
fat and clear the soup as directed on page 59. 
Serve in bouillon cups with crisp crackers. 
Serves fifteen to twenty persons. 

Beef Broth 

I lb. lean beef from round or i pt. cold water 
shoulder J teaspoon salt 

Wash and chop the meat fine, removing any 
pieces of fat. Add the salt and let the meat 
soak for one hour in a cold place. In a small 
cooker-pail or pan set over a larger cooker- 
pail of hot, but not boiling water, heat the broth 
till it registers 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Slip 
the pails into a cooker for one-half hour. Strain 
the broth through a coarse wire strainer, remove 
all fat by the directions on page 59, and serve 
it immediately in a heated cup; or it may be 
chilled, or frozen to the consistency of mush. 

Mutton Broth 

3 lbs. mutton (from neck) Few grains pepper 

2 qts. cold water 3 tablespoons rice or 

2 teaspoons salt 3 tablespoons barley 

Wipe the meat, remove carefully all skin and 
fat, as these impart a rank flavour to mutton 
broth. Cut the meat into small pieces, or put 
it through a food chopper. Cover the meat 
and bones with the water, add the salt, and 



64 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

when boiling put them into a cooker for from 
nine to twelve hours. If barley is used, soak 
it over night and cook it in a small pail or pan 
set into or ove the broth n the ame cooker-pail. 
When broth and barley are bo h boiling, put 
the pails together and slip them nto the cooker. 
Rice would be over cooked if treated in this 
way, and should be cooked in the strained broth, 
or separately, for one hour in the cooker. When 
the broth is done, strain it and remove every 
particle of fat as directed on page 59. 

Consomme 

3 lbs. lower part of round or 2 tablespoons butter 

shoulder of beef l tablespoon salt 

I lb. marrow bone I teaspoon peppercorns 

3 lbs. knuckle of veal i teaspoon shaved lemon rind 

I qt. chicken stock 3 sprigs thyme 

J cup carrot i sprig marjoram 

J cup turnip 2 sprigs parsley 

J cup celery J bay leaf 

^ cup onion 3 qts. cold water 

Prepare the meat as directed for making 
brown stock, using the marrow fat to brown half 
of the meat. Soak the raw meat and bone in the 
cold water while browning the remaining meat 
and preparing the vegetables and seasonings. 
Prepare the vegetables as directed for making 
soup stock, and brown them in the butter. Bring 
all to a boil together, reserving the chicken 



SOUPS 65 

stock. Boil for ten minutes, and put it into the 
cooker for from nine to twelve hours. Strain 
this stock through a wire strainer, add the chicken 
stock, and, if it is not seasoned sufficiently, 
add what seasoning it needs. Cool it as rapidly 
as possible, and when cold, clear it according 
to the directions on page 59. 

It is served, usually, with custard cut into 
fancy shapes; or with noodles, macaroni, or 
other Italian pastes, which are first cooked as 
directed on page 143; or with delicate vege- 
tables, such as peas or string beans, or other 
vegetables cut into fancy shapes; or with cooked 
chicken, cut in dice, and green peas. A poached 
egg is sometimes served in each plate of soup. 

Serves sixteen or twenty persons. 

Mock Turtle Soup No. i 

1 calf's head i^ teaspoons salt 

6 cloves 2 cups brown stock 

8 peppercorns i cup butter 

6 allspice berries i cup flour 

2 sprigs thyme i cup stewed tomatoes, strained 
J cup sliced onion Juice | lemon 

I cup carrot cut in dice Madeira wine 

Clean and wash the calf's head, reserving 
the tongue and brains to use for some other dish. 
Soak it for one hour in enough cold water to 
cover it. Boil it in a covered pail for twenty 



66 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

minutes with three quarts of salted water and 
the vegetables and seasoning, and put it into 
the cooker for from nine to twelve hours. 
Remove the head; cut off the face meat and 
reserve it; boil the stock until it is reduced to 
one quart. Strain and remove the fat from 
it as directed on page 59; or cool it, and remove 
the hard fat. Melt the butter, add the flour 
and stir it until it is well browned; then add 
the brown stock, one-half at a time, stirring it 
constantly, and allowing the mixture to boil 
before adding the second cupful of liquid. To 
this add the head stock, tomato, one cupful of 
the face meat cut in dice, and the lemon juice. 
Simmer for five minutes. Just before serving it 
add Madeira wine to taste, more salt and pepper, 
if desirable, custard cut in dice, and egg balls 
or forcemeat balls. If the soup is prepared, 
as it may be, some time before it is to be served, 
slip the pail into the cooker until time for serving. 
If kept many hours it will need to be reheated. 
Mock Turtle Soup 
I calf's or lamb's liver 4 cloves 

I calf's heart i teaspoon peppercorns 

I knuckle of veal 2 teaspoons salt 

Water to cover (about 2 qts.) i bay leaf 
^ cup union 4 yolks of hard-cooked eggs 

J cup turnip J lemon 

^ cup celery Madeira wine 



SOUPS 67 

Wash the meat, cover it with cold water in a 
cooker-paiL Let it stand in a cold place while 
the vegetables are being prepared. Wash the 
vegetables and cut them in small pieces. Put 
them and the seasonings with the meat, bring 
all to a boil, and boil it for ten minutes. Put 
it into a cooker for nine hours or more. Strain 
?t, and add to it one cupful of the heart and 
liver meat cut into small dice. Pour it into 
a tureen in which the lemon and the egg yolks, 
cut in quarters, have been placed. Add Madeira 
v/ine to taste. The remaining heart and liver 
mav be used for stew or hash. 

Serves ten or eleven persons. 

Vegetable Soup with Stock 

2 qts. brown stock ^ cup cabbage 

^ cup turnip j cup onion 

^ cup carrot ^ teaspoon salt 

^ cup celery 2 tablespoons rice or barley 

Wash and pare the vegetables. Put all but 
the celery through a coarse food chopper. Cut 
the celery in fine pieces. Boil all the ingre- 
dients together hard for one minute. Put 
them into a cooker for three hours or more. 
If barley is used, soak it over night in cold 
water and boil it till soft; or cook it in the 
cooker with boiling salted water for live or 
six hours. 



68 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

Cream of Celery Soup 

2 cups white stock 3 tablespoons flour 

3 cups celery, cut small 2 cups hot milk 
I cup water i cup hot cream 

1 small onion, sliced i teaspoon salt 

2 tablespoons butter J teaspoon pepper 

Cook the first four ingredients together in a 
cooker for three hours or more. Rub them through 
a sieve; bind the soup with the butter and flour, 
as directed on page 59, and add the milk, cream, 
and seasonings. 

Serves six or eight persons. 

Asparagus Soup 

3 cups white stock, or J cup butter 

3 cups water in which aspara- j cup flour 

gus has cooked 2 cups hot milk 

I can asparagus, or ^ teaspoon salt 

I pt. cooked asparagus | teaspoon pepper 

I slice onion 

If canned asparagus is used, drain and rinse it. 
Cut off the tips about an inch long, and reserve 
them. Put the stalks of asparagus, stock or 
asparagus water and onion into a cooker-pail. 
When boiling, put them into a cooker for two 
and one-half hours or more. Rub through a 
sieve, bind it with the butter and flour, as directed 
on page 59, and add the remaining ingredients 
and the tips. 

Serves six or seven persons. 



SOUPS 69 

Tomato Soup with Stock 

I qt. brown stock 4 tablespoons butter 

I can or i qt. tomatoes J cup flour 

I onion i^ teaspoons salt 

Cook the first three ingredients for one hour 
or more in the cooker. Rub through a strainer, 
bind it with the butter and flour, as directed on 
page 59, and add the salt. Or bind the soup 
before putting it into the cooker, and strain 
it just before serving. 

Serves eight or ten persons. 

Creole Soup 

I qt. brown stock J cup flour 

1 pt. tomatoes f teaspoon salt 

3 tablespoons chopped green Few grains of cayenne 

sweet peppers 2 tablespoons grated horse- 

2 tablespoons chopped onion radish 

^ cup butter i teaspoon vinegar 

^ cup macaroni rings 

Cook the pepper and onion in the butter for 
five minutes, add the flour, then the stock and 
tomatoes gradually, and cook all in the cooker 
for one hour or more. Rub it through a sieve, 
and add the remaining ingredients. The maca- 
roni rings are made by cutting cooked macaroni 
into very short lengths. Do not soak macaroni 
for making rings. 

Serves six or eight persons. 



70 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

Ox Tail Soup 

1 small ox tail ^ cup Madeira wine 

l^ qts. brown stock i teaspoon Worcestershire 

i teaspoon salt sauce 

Few grains of cayenne i teaspoon lemon juice 

2 tablespoons butter Flour 

Cut the ox tail into small pieces, wash it, 
drain it, and sprinkle it with the salt, pepper, 
and flour. Brown it in the butter. Add it to 
the stock with the vegetables, which have been 
cut small or with French vegetable cutters. 
Put it into the cooker for two hours or more. 
Add the seasonings and lemon juice. 

Serves six or eight persons. 

Julienne Soup 
I qt. brown stock 2 tablespoons peas 

i cup carrot 2 tablespoons string beans 

J cup turnip 

Clarify the stock and add the cooked beans 
and peas and the carrot and turnip, which have 
been cut into thin strips one and one-half inches 
long and cooked for two hours in the cooker. 
When boiling hot, serve it. 

Serves four or five persons. 

Macaroni Soup 

I qt. brown stock J cup macaroni rings 

Cook the macaroni in boiling salted water for 
two hours in the cooker. Drain it in a colander. 



SOUPS 71 

Cut it into very short lengths to make rings. 
Heat them in the stock. 

SOUPS MADE WITHOUT STOCK 

Vegetable Soup 
J cup carrot i pt. tomatoes 

J cup turnip 5 tablespoons butter 

J cup celery i tablespoon parsley 

^ cup onion 2 teaspoons salt 

ij cups potato I teaspoon pepper 

I qt. water 

Wash the vegetables, scrape the carrot, pare 
the turnip, potatoes, and onions, remove the 
leaves and strings from the celery, and cut the 
vegetables in small pieces, or put all except 
the potatoes and celery through a coarse food 
chopper. Measure the vegetables after they 
are prepared. Put them all, except the potatoes 
and parsley, into a frying pan with the butter, 
and cook them for ten minutes; add the potatoes 
and cook them for two minutes more, then 
put all the ingredients, except the parsley, 
together in a cooker-pail, and when they are 
boiling put them into a cooker for three hours 
or more. Add the parsley just before serving. 
"Left-over" vegetables, in pieces, may be added, 
in place of an equal measure of any of the first 
five given. 

Serves six or eight persons. 



72 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

Bean Soup 

1 pt. beans 2 tablespoons Chili sauce 

2 qts. water or stock 2 tablespoons butter 
I onion 2 tablespoons flour 
^ lb. lean, raw beef, if stock is 2^ teaspoons salt 

not used j teaspoon pepper 
2 stalks celery 

Wash and soak the beans over night, cut the 
meat small, and pan-broil the pieces in a dry, 
hot frying pan till brown. Put all the ingre- 
dients except the butter and flour into a cooker- 
pail, and when they are boiling put them into 
a cooker for from nine to twelve hours. Rub 
the soup through a strainer, and bind it. 

Serves eight or ten people. 

Black Bean Soup 

1 pt. black beans J teaspoon pepper 

2 qts. water J teaspoon mustard 

1 small onion Cayenne 

2 stalks celery, or 3 tablespoons butter 
J teaspoon celery salt i^ tablespoons flour 
2 teaspoons salt 2 hard-cooked eggs 

I lemon 

Soak the beans over night, drain them and add 
the two quarts of water. Cook the onion in one- 
half of the butter; add onion and celery to the 
beans, and, when boiling, put them into a cooker 
for from eight to twelve hours. Rub the soup 
through a strainer, add the seasonings, bind it. 



SOUPS ^7^ 

and when it has boiled for five minutes pour it 
over the sliced eggs and lemon in a soup tureen. 
Serves eight or ten persons. 

Tomato Soup 

I can tomatoes, or i slice onion 

I qt. raw tomatoes 2 teaspoons salt 

I pt. water \ teaspoon soda 

12 peppercorns 2 teaspoons sugar 

I small bay leaf 2 tablespoons butter 

4 cloves 3 tablespoons flour 

Cook the first six ingredients together in a 
cooker for one hour or more. Strain, add the 
salt and soda, and bind it. If it is not to be served 
at once it may stand in the cooker, to keep hot, 
for an indefinite period. 

Serves six or seven persons. 

Puree of Lima Beans 

1 cup dried lima beans i cup cream or milk 
3 pts. water 4 tablespoons butter 

2 slices onion 2 tablespoons flour 
2 slices turnip 2 teaspoons salt 

\ teaspoon pepper 

Wash the beans and soak them over night. 
Drain them, and, when boiling, cook them with the 
prepared onion and turnip and the water in a 
cooker for four hours or more. Rub this through 
a strainer, add the seasoning and cream or milk, 
and bind it. 

Serves seven or nine persons. 



74 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

Baked Bean Soup 

3 cups cold baked beans 2 tablespoons butter 

3 pints water 2 tablespoons flour 

2 slices onion i tablespoon Chili sauce 

2 stalks celery i teaspoon salt 

I J cups tomato J teaspoon pepper 

Cook the first five ingredients in a cooker for 
three hours or more, rub them through a strainer, 
bind this with the butter and flour, as directed on 
page 59, and add the seasonings. 

Serves eight or ten persons. 

Green Pea Soup 
I can marrowfat peas, or i slice onion 

1 pt. shelled peas 2 tablespoons butter 

2 teaspoons sugar 2 tablespoons flour 
I pt. water i^ teaspoon salt 

I pt. milk J teaspoon pepper 

If fresh peas are used take those which are too 
old to be good to serve as a vegetable. If canned 
peas are used, drain and rinse them, add the sugar, 
water, and onion, and, when boiling, put them 
into a cooker for two hours or more. Rub them 
through a strainer, add the hot milk and seasoning 
and bind the soup with the butter and flour, as 
directed on page 59. 

Bean and pea soups are very nourishing and 
should not be followed by a rich, hearty meal. 

Serves five or six persons. 



SOUPS 75 

Potato Soup 

3 potatoes 2 tablespoons flour 
I pt. milk i^ teaspoons salt 

1 pt. water ^ teaspoon celery salt 

2 slices onion J teaspoon pepper 

4 tablespoons butter Cayenne 

I teaspoon chopped parsley 

Scrub and pare the potatoes and cut them into 
small pieces. Cook them in a cooker with the 
water and onion for one and one-half hours or 
more, standing the pail or pan in a larger cooker- 
pail of boiling water. Rub the soup through a 
sieve, bind it, and add the seasoning. 

Serves five or six persons. 

Fish Chowder 

4 lbs. cod, haddock, or other i^ inch cube fat salt pork 

firm white fish i tablespoon salt 

4 cups potatoes (in finch dice) | teaspoon pepper 
I onion, sliced 3 tablespoons butter 

4 cups scalded milk § cup oyster crackers 

Skin the fish (see page 82), cut the flesh into 
two-inch pieces, put the head, tail, and bones into 
a small cooker-pail or pan, add two cups of cold 
water and bring it to a boil. Set this into a 
larger cooker-pail of boiling water to which 
one teaspoonful of salt has been added for each 
quart of water. Put the potatoes in this lower 
pail and, when boiling, cook all in the cooker 
for one hour. 



76 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

Cut the pork into small pieces, try out the fat 
in a frying-pan and fry the onion in it. When the 
fish and potatoes are cooked, drain off the fish- 
liquor, add all the ingredients except the milk 
and crackers to it, bring it to a boil and place 
it in the cooker for one-half hour. Add the 
milk and pour the chowder over the crackers 
in a tureen. 

Serves tv^elve or sixteen persons. 

Connecticut Chowder 

Make this in the same manner as fish chowder, 
substituting two and one-half cups of stewed or 
canned tomatoes for the milk. The tomatoes 
may be added to the other ingredients when they 
are put together. If desired, crumble the crackers 
and add them just before serving. 

Serves ten or twelve persons. 

Clam Chowder 

^ pk. clams in the shell i tablespoon salt 

or I qt. clams ^ teaspoon pepper 

I qt. potatoes, cut in J inch 4 tablespoons butter 

dice I qt. scalding hot milk, or 

I cup water 6 or 8 soda crackers, broken 

I ^ inch cube fat salt pork or crumbled 
2^ cups stewed tomatoes 

Wash the clams in a strainer, pick them over, 
to see that there are no bits of shell with them, and 
cut off the soft parts. Chop the hard parts or 



SOUPS 



77 



cut them into small pieces. Cut the pork into 
pieces, try out the fat, and fry the onion in it. 
Put all the ingredients together, except the crackers 
and the milk, if that be used, into a cooker-pail. 
Bring them to a boil and put them into the cooker 
for from one to two hours. Reheat the soup and 
add the milk and crackers. 

Serves ten to sixteen persons. 

Split-pea Soup 

I pt. split peas 2 qts. cold water 

I soup bone (2 lbs.) 2f teaspoons salt 

J teaspoon pepper 

Soak the peas over night and drain them. 
Wash the bone, boil it for ten minutes in the water 
and skim it, add the peas and seasoning, bring 
all to a boil and put it into the cooker for four 
hours or more. Take out the bone and serve 
the soup without straining it. The peas must be 
cooked until they fall to pieces easily when well 
beaten. If desired, the meat may be taken 
from the bone, cut into small pieces and served 
in the soup. 

Oyster or Clam Stew 

I qt. oysters or clams j cup butter 

I qt. milk i^ tablespoons salt 

^ teaspoon pepper 

Heat the milk till it boils. Heat the oysters 
or clams in their liquor which has been strained 



78 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

through cheese-cloth. Add the pepper and the 
hot milk and put the stew at once into a cooker 
for one-half hour or more. Oysters will keep 
for some hours without curdling if they do not 
boil after the milk is added and if the salt is put 
in just before serving. It will be safer to keep 
the clams and milk separate while in the cooker 
and combine them just before serving. Less salt 
will be needed for clams than for oysters. 

SOUP GARNISHES 

Noodles 

I egg i teaspoon salt 

Flour to make a stiff dough 

Beat the egg until it is evenly mixed, add a 
little flour, through which the salt has been mixed. 
Gradually add more flour until a dough is made 
that can be rolled out very thin. Knead it a few 
minutes, then roll it as thin as possible. Let it 
stand for fifteen or twenty minutes covered with 
a towel, then roll it like jelly-roll and cut, from 
the end of the roll, very narrow slices. Unroll 
these strips and lay them on a board, covered 
lightly with a towel or clean cloth, to dry. When 
perfectly dry they are ready to use, or may be 
put away in covered cans or boxes and kept in 
a cool place. 

If noodles are used as a vegetable they should 



SOUPS 79 

be prepared as macaroni, except that they must 
not be soaked before cooking. 

Egg Balls 

4 eggs, cooked ^ teaspoon salt 

I egg, raw i teaspoon butter 

^ teaspoon pepper 

Put the eggs into enough cold water to more 
than cover them (at least one quart for every 
four eggs), bring this to a boil and put it into a 
cooker for twenty minutes. Drop the eggs into 
cold water, take off the shells and when they are 
cold carefully remove the whites, leaving the 
yolks whole. These may be dropped into soup 
as they are, or they may be mashed, mixed with 
the butter and salt and enough egg yolk, or egg 
white or whole egg, beaten, to moisten them, so 
that they may be moulded into balls about the 
size of a hard-cooked yolk. Roll these in flour 
and saute them in butter. 

Forcemeat Balls 

J cup fine, soft crumbs i egg 

J cup milk I cup raw fish or meat 

I teaspoon salt i tablespoon flour 

I tablespoon butter 

Cook the bread and milk to a paste, cool it, 
add the beaten egg and fish or meat, forced 
through a fine meat-chopper or chopped and 
then ground fine with a mortar and pestle. Mould 
it into balls, lay them in a pan with the flour 



^o THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

and shake it until the balls are floured; then 
saute them with the butter, shaking the pan 
carefully from time to time, till the balls are 
browned on all sides. Or the balls may be 
dropped into boiling soup and put into the 
cooker for one-half hour. 

Croutons 
Cut slices of bread one-half inch thick, spread 
thinly with butter. Cut the slices into strips 
one-half inch wide, and these into dice one-half 
inch thick. Put them into a baking-pan, and 
brown them in a hot oven, stirring them about 
frequently that they may be brown evenly. 
Add them to the soup just before serving, or 
pass them after serving. 

Soup Sticks 
Prepare the bread exactly as for croutons, 
except that the strips of bread are not cut into 
dice. If desired the strips may be sprinkled 
with grated cheese after they are cut. Lay 
them side by side with enough space between 
them to allow them to brown on the sides. Serve 
them as an accompaniment to soup. 

Crisp Crackers 
Split plain, thick crackers; spread the rough 
sides slightly with butter, and brown them 
delicately in a hot oven. 



XI 

FISH 

cy^O tell fresh fish. The flesh of fresh fish 
•^ is firm, and will rise quickly if pressed 
with the finger; the eyes are bright, and the gills 
red. Frozen fish may be kept for a long time, 
but must be used at once when thawed, as it 
spoils more quickly than fresh fish. Thaw 
frozen fish in cold water. 

Care of fish. Clean it and wipe it, inside and 
out, with a cloth dipped in strongly salted water. 
Do not put steaks or cutlets of fish into the water. 
Lay it on a plate on cracked ice, or in a cool 
place. It must not be kept in an ice-box unless 
wrapped in two thicknesses of brown paper, 
or it will impart an odour to milk, butter, and 
other foods. 

To clean a fish. Before opening it remove 
the scales by scraping slowly from the tail toward 
the head, holding the knife nearly flat on the 
fish. Rinse the knife frequently in cold water. 
Open the fish on the under side, cutting a slit 
from the gills half-way down the body. Remove 

8i 



82 



THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 



the entrails clear to the backbone, scraping the 
inside if necessary. 

To skin a fish. Cut a slit down the back to the 
tail, on both sides of the dorsal fins, deep enough 
to take them out. Insert a sharp-pointed knife 
under the skin as near the gills as possible. Hold- 
ing the head by the bony part near the gills, 
work the knife down toward the tail. 

Cooking of fish. Fish is sufficiently cooked when 
the flesh will easily flake away from the bones. 
If boiled too long, it becomes soft and watery. 
An acid flavour is palatable with fish, and 
for this reason slices of lemon or an acid sauce 
are often served with it. 

Left-over boiled fish may be served in a variety 
of ways, as creamed fish, scalloped fish, fish 
souffle, croquettes, casserole of fish, etc. 

TABLE OF THE SEASONS, ETC., OF FRESH-WATER 

FISH 



NAME OF FISH 


WEIGHT 


IN SEASON 


Salmon 


5 or 6 lbs., or more 


May to Sept. 


Shad 


3 lbs., or more 


Jan. to June 


White fish 


4 lbs. 


Winter 


Bass 


3 to 8 lbs 


Always 


Perch 


Average 8 to a lb. 


Summer 


Pickerel 


I to 4 lbs. 


Always 


Brook Trout 




Apr. to Aug. 


Lake Trout 


4 to 9 lbs. 


Apr. to Aug. 


Pike 




Summer 



FISH 



83 



TABLE OF SEASONS, ETC., OF SALT-WATER FISH 



NAME OF FISH 


WEIGHT 


IN SEASON 


Cod 


3 to 20 lbs. 


Always 


Haddock 


5 to 8 lbs. 


Always 


Black Bass 


3 lbs. 


Aug. to Mar. 


Cusk 


5 to 8 lbs. 


Winter 


Halibut 




Always 


Flounders 


^ to 5 lbs. 


Always 


Red snapper 


4 lbs., or more 


Late winter 


Bluefish 


4 to 8 lbs. 


June to Oct. 


Tautog 




July to Sept. 


Sturgeon 




Summer 


Swordfish 




July to Sept. 


Weakfish 


3 to 5 lbs. 


Winter 


Mackerel 


J to 2 lbs. 


May to Sept. 


Turbot 




Jan. to Mar. 


Herring 


6 or 8 to a lb. 


Mar. and Apr. 


Smelts 


Average 8 to a lb. 


Sept. to Mar. 


Lobsters 


I to 2 lbs. 


Always 


Oysters 




Sept. to May 


Clams 




Always 


Crabs 


Boiled Fish 


Summer 



Put a three-pound fish, or three pounds of 
small fish, into four quarts of boiling water to 
which four teaspoonfuls of salt have been added. 
Set it at once into the cooker for one hour. 
Larger fish may be cooked in the same 
way if more water is used. For instance, a 
four-pound fish should be put into five or six 



84 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

quarts of water. Or, with large fish, put them 
into boiUng water to cover them, let them come 
to a boil, and put them into the cooker for 
three-quarters of an hour or more, according 
to the size of the fish. Fish when overcooked 
will be watery, but will not break to pieces, 
unless very much overdone, if cooked in a 
hay-box or cooker. 

Creamed Salt Codfish No. i 

I lb. fish 3 or 4 qts. water 

Wash the fish and, without shredding it, 
put it into the cold water, bring it to a boil, and 
put it into a cooker for one and one-half hours. 
Drain, pick into pieces, and bring to a boil in 
one cup of white sauce, omitting the salt. It 
is improved by adding a beaten egg before 
serving. 

Serves six or seven persons. 

Creamed Salt Codfish No. 2 

I lb. codfish 4 eggs 

3 or 4 qts. water ^ cup milk 

i cup butter | teaspoon pepper 

Cook the fish as for creamed salt codfish 
No. I. When picked to pieces, put it into a 
double boiler with the butter. When this is 
absorbed by the fish add the remaining ingredi- 
ents beaten together. Cook, stirring constantly. 



FISH 85 

until it thickens like custard. Serve at once or 
it will curdle. 

Serves six or eight persons. 

Codfish Balls 
I cup raw salt codfish, in 3 qts. cold water 

small pieces i egg 

I heaping pint potatoes in i tablespoon butter 

i-inch pieces ^ teaspoon pepper 

Bring the fish and potatoes to a boil in the 
water. Put them into a hay-box for one and 
one-half hours. Drain and shake them, un- 
covered, over the fire to dry them as boiled 
potatoes, till white and mealy. Mash them 
thoroughly, add the other ingredients, and mix 
them together thoroughly. If necessary, add 
a little more salt. Take the mixture up by 
tablespoonfuls and, without moulding them, 
drop them into hot, deep fat. Fry until they 
are a rich brown, and drain them on brown 
paper. 

To test the temperature of fat for fish balls, 
drop a cube of stale bread into the fat. If it 
grows a rich brown in forty seconds the fat is 
of the right temperature. If fat is too hot, 
fried food is injured in flavour and digestibility; 
if not hot enough the food will be greasy. If 
fish balls fall apart in the frying, it is because 



86 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

the fish and potatoes were not well dried before 
adding the other ingredients. 
Serves four or six persons. 

Salt Fish Souffle 

I cup salt codfish 2^ tablespoons butter 

I heaping pt. potatoes f cup milk 

3 qts. water i teaspoon pepper 

2 eggs 

Cook the fish and potatoes as for codfish balls. 
When drained and dried, add the butter, milk, 
pepper, and yolks of eggs; then the whites, beaten 
stiff. Turn into a buttered baking-dish, and 
bake until puffed and brown (about one-half 
hour) in an insulated oven, the stones heated 
until the paper test shows a golden brown. 

Serves eight or ten persons. 

Salmon Loaf 

I can salmon i teaspoon pepper 

i cup butter (melted) i^ teaspoons salt 

I cup soft breadcrumbs 2 tablespoons chopped parsley 

4 eggs I small bay leaf 

If only hard, dry crumbs can be obtained, add 
one-fourth of a cup of water to the recipe, mix- 
ing it with the eggs, and soaking the crumbs 
one-half hour in the mixture. 

Rub the fish and butter together, add the 
other ingredients, and put all into a buttered 
one-quart bread-mould or water-tight empty 



FISH 87^ 

coffee or baking-powder can. Set the mould 
in enough cold water to reach two-thirds of the 
way up its sides. Let this come to a boil, boil 
fifteen minutes and put into the cooker for one 
hour. It will not be injured by remaining in 
the hay-box two hours. Or set the mould 
into boiling water, boil one-half hour, and put 
into the cooker for an hour. 
Serves eight or ten persons. 

Casserole of Fish 

I cup cold flaked fish i cup mashed potatoes 

I teaspoon salt 2 hard-cooked eggs 

^ teaspoon pepper 

Butter a quart mould, put into it alternate 
layers of fish, potatoes, and egg; seasoning each 
layer. Stand the mould in a cooker-pail of 
boiling water to reach two-thirds of the way up 
its sides. Boil ten minutes and put it into the 
cooker for from three-quarters of an hour to two 
hours. 

Serves six persons. 

Cape Cod Turkey 

I lb. salt codfish 4 qts. cold water 

^ lb. fat salt pork 

Wash the fish and put it on the stove in the 
water. When boiling, put it into a cooker and 
let it cook from one and one-half to three hours. 
While this is cooking cut the pork into one-fourth 



Si THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

inch slices, gash the sHces occasionally, nearly 
to the rind. Pour boiling water over it, drain it, 
and try it out in a frying-pan till brown and 
crisp. When the codfish is done, drain it and 
garnish it with a border of the hot, crisp pork. 
Serve drawn-butter sauce and boiled potatoes 
with it. 

Serves six or eight persons. 

Creamed Oysters 

T qt. oysters J cup flour 

2 cups milk or cream | teaspoon salt 

J cup butter Few grains of white pepper 

Drain and wash the oysters. Strain the liquor 
through cheese-cloth. Heat the oysters in the 
liquor by themselves and scald the milk. Rub the 
butter and flour together, add them to the hot 
milk or cream, and let it boil. Put this mixture 
with the boiling oysters and set it in a cooker 
for one-half hour or more. Just before serv- 
ing add the seasoning. Serve it on toast or crisped 
crackers, or in croustades. 



XII 

BEEF 

^O select good beef, (i) Quality. "Heavy" 
beef, that is, taken from fat, heavy 
animals, is the best. It should be mottled with 
fat all through the lean, and the large masses 
of fat should be firm and of a creamy white 
colour. The grain of tender meat is fine. Coarse- 
grained meat, and meat streaked with con- 
nective tissue or gristle, is sure to be tough. 
(2) Freshness. Fresh beef is a good red colour, 
modified, when it is very cold, to a purplish 
shade. If black or greenish in tint the meat is 
stale, and its odour will be bad. Meat is flabby 
after it is killed, but soon grows firm. It is in 
suitable condition for cooking before this change 
takes place, or some days after it. 

Uses of the different cuts: Beef is cut variously 
m diff'erent parts of the country, and the same 
cuts are not always similarly named. Merely 
to call the cuts by name would, therefore, make 
this chapter unintelligible to some readers; but 

89 



90 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

by consulting the accompanying chart the pieces 
can be selected without reference to their names, 
according to the part of the animal adapted 
to each particular use. Those muscles which 
are much used and which have hard work to do 
will have the most juice and the best flavour, 
though, at the same time, they will be the 
toughest. For instance, all cuts, such as round, 
shoulder, shin, and rump, w^hich come from 




Figure No. 7. 

Diagram of the cuts of beef. The double line shows the division 

between forequarter and hindquarter. 

the legs or parts by which the legs are connected 
with the body, will be tough and high-flavoured. 
The neck also, and upper part of the shoulder, 
by reason of the support they give to the weight 
of the head, are tough, although rich in flavour. 
Any cuts from these parts, by whatever name 
they are called, are not suitable for cooking 
with dry heat, such as that of baking, or broil- 
ing, but will require long, slow cooking with 
water to make them tender. Such pieces are 



BEEF 91 

the ones to buy for cooking in a hay-box. 
They do not command the price of the tender 
cuts from the back of the animal, and it is, there- 
fore, a distinct economy to buy these cheap pieces 
and by skilful cooking make them digestible 
and palatable. The parts numbered i, 2, 7, 8, 
9, in Fig. 7 are suitable for stews; those marked 
II and 12, as well as all bones, are suitable for 
soups. Numbers 2, 5, 6, and 10 may be used 
for stews or broth, but are adapted also to pot 
roasts, rolled steaks, cannelon, Hamburg steak, 
etc., while only numbers 3 and 4 are adapted 
to roasting or broiling. 

Other parts of beef used as food, suitable for 
cooking in the hay-box or cooker, are: 

Brains, stewed or scalloped, or for croquettes. 

Heart, stuffed and braised. 

Liver, braised. 

Tongue, boiled; fresh, corned, or pickled. 

Kidneys, stewed. 

Tail, soup. 

TABLE SHOWING SOME OF THE NAMES GIVEN 
TO CUTS OF BEEF IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE 
COUNTRY. 

The numbers indicate the part from which the cuts are 
taken, as shown on the chart (Fig. No. 7). 

1. Neck, part of the Rattleran, and Sticking piece. 

2. Chuck, part of Rattleran. 



92 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

3. Chuck and Rib roasts. 

4. Sirloin steak, Porter-house steak, Pinbone roast. The 

latter includes also a part of Number 7. 

5. Rump, Aitchbone. 

6. Round. 

7. Flank, Top of Sirloin. 

8. Flank, Plate. 

9. Brisket, Navel. 

10. Shoulder, Shoulder clod, Rattleran, Bolar, Cross ribs. 

11. and 12. Fore and hind shin. Soup bones. 
13. Vein, Veiny piece. 

Care of meat. All meat should at once be 
removed from the wrapping paper when it comes 
from the store, otherwise the paper absorbs the 
juices and sticks to the meat. Never put 
meat into water, except it be such parts as kid- 
ney, liver, heart, etc., or the water will soak 
out the juice which is the part of meat that con- 
tains the flavour. Wipe it with a clean, wet 
cloth, and keep it in a cool place. If it must be 
kept longer than is safe for raw meat, it may be 
partially cooked, cooled quickly, and kept cold 
till time to complete the cooking. 

Cooking meat. If meat is put into cold water 
and gradually heated to the boiling point, a large 
proportion of the juice will be extracted. The 
meat will thus be rendered tasteless and the 
water will contain the flavouring matter. Long 
cooking in water dissolves the gelatine of the 



BEEF $3 

bones and connective tissue. These effects are 
desirable for soups and broths, but undesirable 
when the meat itself is also to be used. 

If meat is put into boiling water, allowed to 
boil a few minutes, and then cooked a long 
time at a lower temperature, the albumen of the 
juice is hardened on the surface of the meat and 
the remaining juice is thus kept to a considerable 
extent. The long cooking may then soften the 
tough tissue while the meat retains much of its 
flavour, the water becoming also flavoured. This 
is desirable for stews, meat pies, pot roasts, 
poultry, etc., in which cases meat and liquor 
are both to be served. 

Braised Beef 

Wipe the beef with a wet cloth, cut off any 
tough ends and bone if it will not mar the 
appearance of the meat, as these parts will not 
become palatable in the length of time required 
for the remainder of the roast. They will be 
found useful for soups, stews, cannelon of beef, 
Hamburg steak, and such dishes. Roast the 
meat in a hot oven for half an hour, transfer it 
quickly to a cooker utensil, add enough boil- 
ing water to nearly cover it, let the whole become 
very hot in the oven, and place it quickly in the 
cooker. The time that is required for com- 
pleting the cooking will depend upon the size of 



94 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

the piece and the degree of cooking desired. 
A five-pound roast may be cooked four hours, 
and if not found done to taste, it can be reheated 
to -boihng point and cooked longer. A larger 
roast will require more time in the cooker. If 
preferred, the meat may first be partially cooked 
in the hay-box and browned in the oven after- 
ward. It must then be boiled for half an hour, 
cooked three or more hours in the cooker, and 
then roasted. Lay a piece of raw fat on top 
of the roast, or baste it with drippings to assist 
in the browning. 

Pot Roast 
3 lbs. beef rump 2 small carrots 

3 cups boiling water 2 sprigs parsley 

I bay leaf J teaspoon celery seed, or 

I small onion j cup celery, cut in pieces 

Salt and pepper Flour 

^ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce 

Have the butcher bone and roll the meat, 
dredge it well with salt, pepper, and flour, and 
brown it on all sides in a frying-pan with a little 
of the fat from the meat, or one or two tablespoons 
of beef drippings or pork fat. Put all the ingre- 
dients together in a small cooker- pail, let it 
simmer thirty minutes, set it into a larger pail 
of boiling water and put into a cooker for nine 
hours or more. Reheat it to boiling point; 
strain and thicken the liquor for gravy. Round 



BEEF 95 

of beef may be used for pot roast, but it is drier 
than the rump, which has some fat on it. Four 
or five pounds of rump will make three pounds 
when boned. Have the bone sent from the 
market to use for soup stock. 
Serves ten or twelve persons. 

Beef a la Mode 

3 lbs. beef from the round i onion 

1 oz. fat, salt pork | teaspoon allspice 

2 teaspoons salt ^ teaspoon nutmeg 
J teaspoon pepper 6 cloves 

Flour 2 tablespoons rendered beef fat 
Water to nearly cover it 

Wash the meat, lard it with the pork cut into 
strips, or gash it deeply and insert the pork in 
the gashes. Dredge it with the salt, pepper, and 
flour, and fry it in the beef fat till well browned 
on all sides. Put the meat and other ingredients 
into a two or three quart cooker-pail or pan, 
and nearly cover the meat with boiling water. 
Let it simmer for half an hour, then stand the 
pail in a larger cooker-pail of boiling water and 
put it into a cooker for from nine to twelve hours. 
Unless several times this recipe is cooked at 
once, do not allow the meat to cook more than 
twelve hours, or it may ferment. Reheat it 
before serving. Strain and thicken the gravy. 

Serves ten or twelve persons. 



96 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

Corned Beef 

Order eight or ten pounds of rump of beef 
corned for four days. Put it into a large cooker- 
pail and fill the pail with cold water. When 
it boils, allow it to simmer for thirty or forty 
minutes, then put it into a hay-box for ten or 
twelve hours. Reheat it before serving it. If 
ordinary corned beef is used it will be more delicate 
if, when it is allowed to come to a boil, the water 
is changed and fresh boiling water added. It 
may then be cooked as directed above for that 
specially corned. 

Serves twenty or twenty-five persons. 

Boiled Dinner 

2 lbs. lean, salt pork i head cabbage 

3 turnips I2 potatoes 

4 beets ^ teaspoon pepper 
2 carrots Water to cover 

Wash the pork and gash it in slices; wash 
and pare the vegetables.. If preferred, the beets 
may be cooked separately, without paring them. 
Put all, except the potatoes, into the cooker- 
pail and cover them with boiling water. When 
boiling let them cook ten minutes on the stove, 
then put the pail into the cooker for six 
hours or more. Add the potatoes, reheat it 
to boiling point, and replace it in the cooker 
for two hours. If more salt or pepper is 



BEEF 97 

required add it when the potatoes are put in. 
In order to save time the potatoes may be 
cooked separately, drained and added to the 
dinner before bringing it to a boil for serving. 
Corned beef may be used in place of pork, if 
preferred. 

Serves eight or ten persons. 

Beef Stew a la Mode 

i^ lbs. beef brisket 6 cloves 

Flour 2 teaspoons salt 

4 tablespoons rendered fat 2 slices lemon 
I onion ^ teaspoon ground allspice 

1^ teaspoon pepper f teaspoon nutmeg 

Water to cover (about i pt.) 

Buy tv^o and one-half or three pounds of 
brisket to get one and one-half pounds of clear, 
lean meat. Cut the meat into one inch pieces, 
roll them in flour, and fry them in the fat till 
brov^n. The onion may be sliced and added 
when the meat is nearly brown. Put the meat 
with the other ingredients into a small cooker- 
pail, cover it with hot water, boil for ten minutes, 
and cook it in a hay-box for live hours or more. 
If left for many hours the meat becomes a trifle 
dry, but otherwise the stew is not injured by 
overcooking. The gravy may be thickened, if 
desired, with flour and water mixed together 
in equal parts. The bones may be put in 



98 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

with the stew during the cooking and removed 
before serving, or they may be used to make 
soup stock. 

Serves five or six persons. 

Stuffed Rolled Steak 

I flank steak J teaspoon pepper 

I cup soft breadcrumbs 2 tablespoons butter 

I teaspoon salt ^ teaspoon thyme or summer 

savoury 
I tablespoon chopped parsley 

Wash the steak and remove the membrane 
that covers it, unless that has been done at the 
market. Make a stuffing of the crumbs, melt- 
ing the butter and adding the crumbs and other 
ingredients to it. If the steak is large enough, 
use more stuffing than one cupful. Spread 
the stuffing over the meat to within two inches 
of the edge. Roll and skewer or tie it into shape. 
Brown it well on all sides in a dry frying-pan, 
or dredge it with flour and fry it in rendered beef 
fat. Lay it in a small cooker-pail or pan. Make 
two cupfuls of Brown Sauce, or enough to cover 
the roll. Boil the roll for two minutes and 
set the pail in a larger pail of boiling water. 
Put it for five or six hours into a cooker. 
When it is to be served, remove the string or 
skewers, lay the roll on a platter, and pour the 
gravy over it. 



BEEF 



99 



Round steak, cut about one-half inch thick, 
may be used. Remove the bone before rolHng it. 

Beef Stew with Dumplings 
2 cups cooked or rav/ beef i teaspoon salt 

2 cups raw or cooked potatoes | teaspoon pepper 
§ cup tomato J cup flour 

1 onion, cut in slices i tablespoon chopped parsley 
4 tablespoons rendered fat or i^ cups water, or more 

butter 

If cooked meat and potatoes are used, cut 
them in three-quarter-inch dice, make a brown 
sauce of the fat, flour, seasoning, and water, 
add the vegetables and meat and enough water to 
just cover the stew. Place the dumplings on 
top, boil it for five minutes, and cook in a hay- 
box for one and one-quarter hours. If the 
meat is tough it will be better to treat it like 
raw beef. If raw beef is used, cut it in pieces, 
bring it to a boil with the water, and put it into 
the cooker for three or four hours before adding 
the other ingredients. 

Dumplings for Stew 

2 cups flour 4 teaspoons baking powder 
2 tablespoons lard or butter ^ teaspoon salt 

f to I cup water 

Sift the flour, salt, and baking powder together, 
work the fat into them with the fingers, or cut 
it in with a knife. Add enough water to make a 



100 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

stiff dough. Drop it by tablespoonfuls on the 
top of the stew. The dumplings should rest on 
the meat and vegetables, as they will not be so 
light if submerged in the gravy. 
Serves six or seven persons. 

Irish Stew 
3 cups meat J cup celery 

2 cups potatoes 2 teaspoons salt 

^ cup turnip J teaspoon pepper 

J cup carrot J cup flour 

J cup onion 4 tablespoons rendered fat 

3 cups water 

Wash and cut about two pounds of beef, from 
the leg, brisket or other cheap cuts, into one-inch 
pieces. Remove most of the fat, or all of it, if 
desired. Wash and pare the turnip and carrot 
and cut them into small pieces. Pare the potatoes 
and cut them into one-inch cubes. Slice the onion 
and cut the celery into small pieces. Roll the 
meat in the flour and fry it till it is brown in the 
fat. Put all the ingredients, except the remaining 
flour, into a cooker-pail and, when boiling, put 
them into a cooker for five hours. Mix the remain- 
ing flour with an equal quantity of cold water. 
Stir it into the stew, and when it has boiled it is 
ready to serve. It will not be harmed by being 
kept hot in the cooker for another hour or more. 

Serves eight or ten persons. 



beeF 



lOI 



Cannelon of Beef 

I lb. lean beef, chopped ^ tablespoons butter or 
Grated rind \ lemon rendered fat beef 

I tablespoon chopped parsley J teaspoon nutmeg 

I cup soft breadcrumbs \ tablespoon salt 

I teaspoon scraped onion \ teaspoon pepper 
2 eggs 

Mix in the order given, add the eggs, which 
have been sHghtly beaten, put it into a well- 
greased one-quart brown bread mould or water- 
tight can. Stand the mould in a large pail of 
water, arranged on a rack, if necessary to raise the 
top of the mould to the level of the top of the pail. 
Fill the pail with boiling water, to within one- 
third of the top of the mould. Boil it for one-half 
hour and put it into a cooker for four hours. If 
several times this recipe is used, and put into 
larger moulds, it should be boiled a longer time. 
It is good served hot, with brown sauce, or cold. 

Serves six or eight persons. 

Meat Pie 

2 cups cooked or raw meat 2 onions 

2 cups potatoes i teaspoon salt 

1 cup tomatoes \ teaspoon pepper 

2 sprigs parsley, chopped \ cup flour 

J teaspoon celery salt i bay leaf, broken fine 
Water (about i pt.) 

If cooked meat is used, cut it into three-quarter- 
inch cubes. Cut the potatoes into similar pieces. 



102 THE FIRELFSS COOK BOOK 

slice the onions, put all the ingredients, but the 
flour, together in a cooker-pail or pan, add the 
boiling water, and, when boiling, add the flour 
mixed to a paste with an equal quantity of water. 
Boil five minutes and put it into a cooker for two 
hours or more. Raw meat will require five 
hours or more. If the stewed mixture is not 
in a pan suitable for baking, transfer it to a 
baking-pan or dish, cover with a crust and bake 
for one-half hour. 

Crust for Meat Pie 

i^ cups flour J teaspoon salt 

3 teaspoons baking powder i^ tablespoons butter 
Y cup water, or more 

Mix and sift the dry ingredients, work in the 
fat, and put in enough water to make a dough 
stiff" enough to roll on a board. Roll it out 
to the dish and bake it. An inverted cup in 
the centre of the pie, under the crust, will 
prevent the gravy from boiling over during the 
baking. 

Serves six or eight persons. 

Braised Beef's Liver 

I liver 2 teaspoons sage leaves 

I lb. fat salt pork 2 teaspoons thyme 

I onion i teaspoon salt 

Flour i teaspoon pepper 

Fat Water to cover 



BEEF 103 

Lard the liver with the pork. Dredge it with 
flour and brown it in a frying-pan, with rendered 
beef or pork fat or butter. Put it into a cooker- 
pail or pan just large enough to hold it. Cover 
it with boiling water, boil it for five minutes, 
set the pail in a larger cooker-pail of boiling 
water, and put it into a cooker for ten hours 
or more. Reheat it and serve it on a platter, 
cutting it through, but not separating the slices. 
Pour over it the gravy, which has been strained 
and thickened with flour and water mixed to a 
paste. 

The number of persons that it will serve 
depends upon the size of the liver. Allow one 
pound for three or four persons. 

Beef Kidney- 
Wash and soak two kidneys in a large amount 
of water, for several hours or over night, changing 
the water at least once. Cut them open, rinse 
them and put them on to boil in boiling salted 
water to barely cover them, in a small cooker- 
pail. Let them boil five minutes, set the pail in 
a larger pail of boiling water, and cook them ten 
hours or more in a cooker. When tender, remove 
the tubes and membranes and slice the kidneys. 
Thicken as much of the gravy as you wish to use, 
with one-fourth of a cupful of flour mixed with 
one-fourth of a cupful of water to each pint of 



104 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

gravy. Add the sliced kidneys and serve them 
when they are boihng hot. 

Stuffed Heart 
I heart J teaspoon pepper 

^ cup crumbs I small onion, chopped 

I tablespoon butter ^ teaspoon powdered thyme 

^ teaspoon salt I thick sHce bacon 

Flour 

Wash the heart, remove the arteries and veins 
and squeeze out any clots of blood that there 
may be. Stuff it with the soft bread crumbs 
to which the seasonings and melted butter have 
been added. Try out the fat from the slice of 
bacon, dredge the heart with salt, pepper and 
flour and brown it on all sides in the bacon fat. 
Put the heart and the crisp bacon into as small a 
cooker-pail as will hold it, cover it with boiling 
water, boil it for five minutes and put the pail into 
a larger cooker-pail with as much boiling water 
as it will hold when the small pail is in place. 
Put it into a cooker for ten hours, or over night. 
Boil it again and cook it for three or four 
hours. Reheat it when ready to serve it, thicken- 
ing each pint of the gravy with one-fourth cup 
of flour and an equal quantity of water mixed 
to a smooth paste. The heart will look more 
attractive if sliced and covered with gravy 
before serving. 



BEEF 



105 



Beef or calf's heart may be cooked without a 
stuffing and served with caper sauce. 

Corned Tongue 
Wash the tongue, put it into a cooker-pail of 
from four to six quarts capacity. Fill the pail 
with cold water, bring the tongue to a boil and 
boil it for from twenty minutes to half an hour, 
depending upon its size. Put it into a cooker for 
ten or twelve hours. If not perfectly tender, bring 
it again to a boil and cook it from two to four 
hours longer. Plunge it into cold water, remove 
the skin, and serve it cold, cut in thin slices. 

Fresh Tongue 

I tongue I teaspoon peppercorns 

I onion 8 cloves 

I bay leaf Salt 

Wash the tongue, put it into as small a cooker- 
pail as will easily hold it, add the other ingredients 
and fill the pail with boiling water, using one 
teaspoonful of salt to each quart of water. Let it 
boil for twenty minutes or half an hour, depending 
upon the size of the tongue. Put it into a cooker for 
ten hours or more. If not perfectly tender, reheat 
it to boiling point and cook it for from two to 
four hours longer in the hay-box. Plunge it into 
cold water and remove the skin. Serve it hot with 
caper sauce, using the liquor in which the tongue 
was boiled in place of water, to make the sauce. 



XIII 
LAMB AND MUTTON 

SPRING lamb is the meat of lambs from six 
weeks to three months old. It is obtain- 
able in March and throughout the spring. Year- 
ling is lamb one year old. The flesh of lamb is 
lighter in colour than that of mutton and the bones 
are pinker. It may be distinguished from mutton, 
also, by the smaller size of the cuts, which are 
otherwise the same in mutton and lamb. Mutton, 
as all dark meats, may be served rare; but lamb, 
being lighter, is classed with white meats in this 
respect, and should be thoroughly cooked. The 
rank flavour of mutton is greatly reduced if the 
pink membrane, which surrounds the animal, is 
pulled off before cooking. The fat of mutton has 
a strong, disagreeable flavour, and most of it 
should be removed. It will not be good for any 
cooking purposes as veal, beef, and pork fat are. 

Cuts of Mutton. The favourite cuts are the 
rib and loin chops and the leg, but as other parts 
of the sheep are much cheaper, it is well to know 
their possibilities. Shoulder, boned and tied into 

io6 



LAMB AND MUTTON 107 

shape, will, when cooked in the hay-box or cooker, 
make a very good substitute for the leg, while 
shoulder of lamb makes a good roast for small 
families who grow tired of perpetual steak and 
chops. 




Figure No. 8. 
Diagram of the cuts of mutton and lamb. 

TABLE SHOWING THE WAYS IN WHICH THE VARIOUS 

CUTS OF MUTTON AND LAMB MAY BE COOKED 

IN THE HAY-BOX OR COOKER 

1. Neck, stews and broth. 

2. Chuck, stews, broth, meat pie, casserole of rice and meat, 

hash. 

3. Shoulder, braising, plain or boned and stuffed, casserole 

of rice and meat, hash. 
4 and 5. Loin chops, cooked as veal cutlets, breaded or plain. 

6. Flank, soups, stews. 

7. Leg, braised or boiled. 

OTHER PARTS OF THE ANIMAL, USED FOR FOOD, 

WHICH MAY BE COOKED IN THE HAY-BOX 

OR COOKER 

Heart, braised, plain or stuffed. 
Liver, braised, or breaded as veal cutlets. 
Tongue, boiled. 
Kidneys, stewed, 



io8 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

In the chapter on the Insulated Oven directions 

are also given for roasting some cuts of mutton and 

lamb. They are not included in this list, since 

the oven is not an accompaniment of every cooker. 

Boiled Leg or Shoulder of Mutton 

Wipe the meat v^ith a damp cloth, put it into 
a cooker-pail with boiling salted water enough 
to cover it, and to permit of at least three or 
four quarts of water being used, the amount 
depending upon the size of the leg. Boil it 
for half an hour and cook it in the cooker for 
six hours or more. The broth should be saved 
for soup stock and gravy. Serve it with brown 
gravy or with caper sauce. Shoulder will not 
require more than twenty minutes boiling, but 
will take the full time in the cooker. Lamb 
may be treated in the same manner. 

Braised Leg or Shoulder of Mutton 

Wipe the meat with a damp cloth, roast it in 
a hot oven till brown, or dredge it with salt, 
pepper, and flour, and brown it in a frying-pan; 
put it, while still hot, into a cooker-pail with 
enough boiling water to half cover it, or more. 
Bring it to a hard boil, while tightly covered, 
put it at once into a cooker for six hours or more. 
Serve it with brown gravy, saving the remain- 
ing broth for soup stock. Lamb may be treated 
in the same manner. 



LAMB AND MUTTON 109 

Mutton Stew 

2 cups meat i teaspoon salt 

§ cup tomato | teaspoon pepper 

I onion i^ cups water, or more 

1 tablespoon chopped parsley J cup butter, lard or beef fat 

2 cups potatoes J cup flour 

Wipe the meat with a damp cloth, cut it into 
three-quarter-inch cubes, put it into a cooker-pail 
with all the other ingredients, except the fat 
and flour. The potatoes should be pared and 
cut into one and one-half-inch cubes. Bring 
all to a boil, boil it for five minutes and put it 
into a cooker for from four to six hours. Make 
a brown sauce, using the fat, flour, and liquor 
from the stew. Heat the stew in this till boiling. 
Or the meat may be dredged with the flour and 
fried in the fat until meat and flour are brown, 
before being put into the cooker. If cooked 
meat is used, one and one-half hours in the cooker 
will be enough, unless the meat is very tough, 
in which case it may be cooked as long as raw 
meat. The addition of one green pepper makes 
a good variation of this stew. 

Serves five or six persons. 

Chestnut Stew 

2 cups raw mutton 3 cups blanched nuts 

2 onions 2 teaspoons salt 

2 tablespoons fat ^ teaspoon pepper 

3 tablespoons flour Water 



no THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

Wipe the meat with a damp cloth, cut it into 
three-quarter-inch cubes; peel and slice the 
onions. Dredge the meat with the flour, brown 
it and the onions in a frying-pan with any fat 
suitable for cooking. Put all the ingredients 
into a cooker-pail, barely cover them with boil- 
ing water, and let the stew boil live minutes 
before putting it into a cooker for four hours 
or more. 

Serves six or eight persons. 

Syrian Stew (Yakhni) 

2 cups raw mutton 2 onions 

2 tablespoons fat 2 cups tomatoes 

3 tablespoons flour ij teaspoons salt 
2 cups string beans ^ teaspoon pepper 

Water 

Wipe the meat with a damp cloth, cut it into 
cubes, dredge it with the flour, and brown it in 
the fat. Put all the ingredients together, scrap- 
ing from the frying-pan all of the flour and fat. 
Add enough water to barely cover them, let them 
boil for five minutes, and put them into the 
cooker for six hours or more, depending upon 
the beans. If they are old and tough they may 
require more than six hours to cook. 

In Syria this stew is always served with boiled 
or steamed rice. 

Serves six or eight persons. 



LAMB AND MUTTON iii 

Okra Stew 

2 cups raw mutton 2 cups tomatoes 

2 tablespoons fat 2 cups okra 

J cup flour i^ teaspoons salt 

2 onions ^ teaspoon pepper 

Water 

Wipe the meat with a damp cloth, cut it into 
cubes. Wash and cut the okra in pieces, dredge 
it and the meat with the flour and fry them, 
till brown, in the fat. Put all the ingredients 
into a cooker-pail, add enough water to barely 
cover them, boil them for five minutes, and 
put them into a cooker for four hours, or more. 

Serves six or eight persons. 

Syrian Stuffed Cabbage 

1 cup raw chopped meat 2 teaspoons salt 

2 tablespoons fat J teaspoon pepper 
5 cup raw rice i head cabbage 

I lemon 

Strip off* the leaves from a head of cabbage, 
throw them into boiling water, and let them 
stand till they are wilted. Mix the remaining 
ingredients, except the lemon, using for the meat 
either mutton or beef. Lay a cabbage leaf 
on a plate, remove the thickest part of the mid- 
rib, so that it will roll. Spread on it a rounded 
teaspoonful of the mixture and roll it like a 
cigarette. Do the same with the other leaves, 
packing each one, as it is finished, into a pan 



112 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

which will fit over a cooker-pail, unless a pail is 
used which will be nearly filled by the cabbage. 
The rolls must be carefully packed or they will 
float and unroll when the water is added. Cover 
them with boiling water, bring all to a boil, and 
boil it for five minutes, then put it directly into 
a cooker, if the pail is full, or over boiling water 
if not, and leave it for from four to six hours. 
Take the rolls out carefully with a cake turner 
or skimmer, lay them in a platter, and squeeze 
the juice of half a lemon over them. They 
are usually served as the meat dish for luncheon. 
Serves six or eight persons. 

Casserole of Rice and Meat 

4 cups cooked rice (i cup raw) i teaspoon grated onion 
2 cups cooked mutton i tablespoon chopped parsley 

I teaspoon salt J cup breadcrumbs 

i teaspoon pepper i egg 

Stock or water 

Line a greased mould of one and one-half 
quarts' capacity with three cups of the rice. 
Remove all the fat from the meat, chop it fine, 
and mix it with the other ingredients, adding 
enough stock or water to barely keep it from 
crumbling. Pack the meat into the mould and 
cover it with the remaining cupful of rice. 
Grease the cover and put it on. Stand the 
mould in a large cooker-pail of water to two-thirds 



LAMB AND MUTTON 113 

of its depth, or, if it is shallow, prop it on a rack, 
so that the water will reach half its depth; 
boil it for fifteen minutes, and cook it for one 
hour or more in the cooker. Turn it out care- 
fully on to a hot platter, and pour tomato sauce 
around, but not over it. 
Serves six or eight persons. 

Ragout of Cold Mutton 

2 cups cold mutton ^ can peas 

I onion, sliced i teaspoon salt 

1 cup mutton stock J teaspoon pepper 

2 tablespoons butter i head of lettuce 

Farina balls 

Cut the mutton into one-inch cubes. Put 
all the ingredients except the lettuce and farina 
balls into a cooker-pail together, cover it closely, 
and when boiling put it into a cooker for one 
hour. Serve it on a platter garnished with 
lettuce leaves and farina balls. 

Serves four to six persons. 



XIV 



VEAL 



VEAL varies greatly with the age of the 
calf from which it is taken. It should 
be pink, with firm, white fat. Pale, flabby veal 
comes from calves which have been killed too 
young, or bled before death, and is likely to be 
tasteless and stringy when cooked. The older 
veal grows, the more like beef it appears. The 
cuts are larger and the colour is darker and 




Figure No. 9. 
Diagram of the cuts of veal. 

more like the red of beef. Veal can be purchased 
the year round, but the best season for it is 
spring and summer. Almost all parts of the 
calf are tender, but the cheaper cuts correspond 
with the cheaper cuts of beef, except the cutlets 

114 



VEAL 115 

or steaks, which are taken from the same part 
of the animal as the round of beef, and command 
a good price. Veal, like other white meats, 
should be thoroughly cooked. Its delicacy com- 
mends it for many purposes, but it often requires 
the addition of pork, or high seasoning, to give 
it flavour. 

TABLE SHOWING THE WAYS IN WHICH THE 
VARIOUS CUTS OF VEAL MAY BE COOKED IN THE 
HAY-BOX OR COOKER. 

1. Head, Jelly, soups, and broths, calf's head a la terrapin. 

2. Neck, Stews, soup, veal pie. 

3. Chuck, Veal loaf, stews, soup, veal pie. 

4. Shoulder, Braised, stuffed and braised. 

5. Shanks, Soups. 

6. Ribs, Braised or breaded as veal cutlets. 

7. Breast, Soups, stews, veal loaf. 

8. Loin, Braised or breaded as veal cutlets. 

9. Flank, Soups or stews. 

10. Leg, Breaded cutlets or plain cutlets. 

OTHER PARTS OF THE CALF, USED FOR FOOD, 
WHICH MAY BE COOKED IN THE HAY-BOX OR 
COOKER. 

Brains, Stewed and creamed. 
Heart, Braised, plain or stuffed. 
Liver, Braised, or stewed. 
Tongues, Boiled. 
Sweetbreads, Stewed or creamed. 
Kidneys, Stewed or creamed. 



ii6 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

Breaded Veal Cutlets 

2 lbs. veal cutlets i pt. water or stock 

Fine, dry breadcrumbs § cup butter or drippings 

Salt J cup flour 

Pepper i tablespoon chopped parsley 

I egg § teaspoon Worcestershire 

Sauce 

Wipe the cutlets with a clean, wet cloth. Cut 
them into pieces suitable for serving, and sprinkle 
them with salt and pepper. Dip them into sifted 
crumbs, then into the egg, which has been beaten 
slightly and mixed with one tablespoonful of 
water. Dip the cutlets again into the crumbs 
and fry them until they are a rich brown, in one- 
half the butter or drippings. Put them into 
a small cooker-pail or pan. Make Brown Sauce, 
using the remaining ingredients. Pour the sauce 
over the cutlets and, when boiling, stand the pail 
in a large cooker-pail of boiling water. Put it 
into a cooker for from two to four hours, depending 
upon the age and toughness of the veal. Reheat 
them before serving. 

Serves six or eight persons. 

Plain Veal Cutlets 
Wipe the cutlets with a wet cloth, trim off any 
tough membranes, and cut them into pieces suit- 
able for serving. Brown them in a very hot 
frying-pan with butter or rendered fat, being 



VEAL 117 

careful not to let them scorch. Sprinkle them 
well with salt and pepper and put them into a small 
cooker-pail or pan. Pour a little boiling water 
into the frying-pan and, when all the brown juice 
which has hardened on the pan has been dis- 
solved, pour this over the cutlets. Add enough 
boiling water to barely cover them and, when 
boiling, stand the pail or pan in a large cooker- 
pail of boiling water. Put it into the cooker for 
from two to four hours, depending upon the age 
and toughness of the veal. Reheat them before 
serving, if necessary. 

Veal Loaf 

2 cups minced veal i^^ teaspoons salt 

2 eggs 2 tablespoons chopped parsley 

J cup melted butter 2 tablespoons chopped onion 

I cup soft bread crumbs | inch slice fat salt pork 

J teaspoon pepper ^ teaspoon ground sage 

Wipe meat from the cheaper cuts of veal, re- 
move the fat and toughest membranes, and put it 
through a fine food-chopper. Mix the seasonings 
with the crumbs, add the melted butter, mix these 
with the veal, add the pork and, lastly, the eggs. 
Put the mixture in a well-buttered one-quart brown 
bread mould or water-tight can. Spread it level 
but do not pack it in the mould. Stand it in a 
large cooker-pail with enough boiling water to 
come at least two-thirds of the way up the mould. 



ii8 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

Boil it for twenty minutes and put it into the cooker 
for four hours. Serve it either hot or cold. 

Serves eight or ten persons. 
Sweetbreads 

Wash and soak the sv^eetbreads in cold water for 
one hour. Plunge them into boiling salted water 
(one teaspoonful of salt for each quart of water). 
Boil them two minutes and put them into the 
cooker for two hours. Plunge them into cold water, 
remove the membrane which covers them, and they 
are then ready to be broken in pieces for creamed 
sweetbreads or rolled in crumbs and egg and fried. 

Creamed Sweetbreads 

Make a white sauce, using part milk and part 
cream, if desired. To each cupful of sauce 
add two cupfuls of prepared sweetbreads broken 
into small pieces, let them come to a boil and 
serve them at once, or put them into a cooker 
to keep warm until they are needed. 
Calf's Heart 

CalPs heart may be cooked as beef's heart, 
except that it will not require so long to cook. 
Ten minutes is sufficient to allow for cooking over 
the flame, and ten hours in the hay-box. 
Calf's Liver 

Prepare and cook it in the same manner as 
beef's liver, allowing only four hours for it to 
cook in the hay-box. 



VEAL 119 

Veal Kidney 
These are almost as delicate as sweetbreads. 
They may be cooked for two hours in the same 
manner as beef kidney, or creamed or fried as 
sweetbreads. 

Calfs Head a la Terrapin 

1 calf's head 2 tablespoons flour 
Salt ^ teaspoon pepper 
Water J cup cream 

2 tablespoons butter 4 egg yolks 

Madeira Wine 

Carefully clean a calPs head and put it into a 
cooker-pail. Cover it with boiling water, add 
one teaspoonful of salt to each quart of water and 
let it boil for twenty minutes. Put it into a 
cooker for nine hours or more. Cool it and cut 
the face meat into small dice. Make a cupful 
of sauce using the butter, flour, pepper, one-half 
teaspoonful of salt and one cupful of the water 
in which the head was boiled. Add the cream 
and, when boiling, the raw yolks of two eggs 
which have been slightly beaten. Stir it con- 
stantly for about two minutes until the eggs 
have cooked. Then add two tablespoonfuls of 
Madeira wine and the yolks of two hard-cooked 
eggs cut into quarters. 

Serves five or six persons^ 



XV 
PORK 

WHATEVER may be true of the extent to 
which pork and pork products are whole- 
some for particular individuals, there can be 
no doubt that its delicious flavour will insure its 
being eaten by a large number of people who 
either do not know or do not care whether it 
agrees with them or not. Experiments under- 
taken under the management of the Department 
of Agriculture* have resulted in the conclusion 
that pork is as thoroughly and easily digested, 
under normal conditions of health, as any meat, 
although personal experience would indicate that 
pork does not agree with some people as well as 
other kinds of meat. It is specially important, 
however, that pork be very well cooked or well 
cured, in order to insure against the danger from 
trichinosis. We are told by B. H. Ransom f that 
it is only by eating raw or insufficiently cooked 
or cured pork that there is thought to be any 

* Office of Experiment Stations, Bulletin 193, 1907, 

+ U. S. Deot. of Agriculture, Bureau of Animal Industry, Circular 108, 1907. 



PORK 



121 



danger of this disease. Curing is the process of 
smoking, salting, or combined salting and smoking 
of meat, which acts as a preservative for it. We 
thus see that, not only because it is a v^hite meat, 
as mentioned in the chapter on veal, pork and pork 
products should be cooked until very v^ell done. 
As pork is the fattest of all meats, it is suitable 
for a cold-v^eather diet and v^ill probably be 
found to agree better at that season. For what- 
ever reason it may be, fresh pork seems to be less 




Figure No. lo. 
Diagram of the cuts of pork. 

wholesome than when cured, bacon having the 
reputation of being one of the most easily digested 
of all fats. 

Young pigs (four weeks old) are frequently 
dressed and roasted whole. 

Pork is usually cut for market in the manner 
illustrated in figure No. lo. 

The back is fat and is used for salt pork or lard. 
The ribs are used for spare-ribs, and the loin or 



122 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

chine, which is the backbone with its adhering 
meat, is used for roasts or chops. The legs are 
roasted, if fresh, or they are cured, by salting and 
smoking, for hams, sugar being used in the salting 
process, which gives the name "sugar-cured 
hams"; the shoulders are treated in the same way 
and may be used very much as hams, although 
the flesh is not so thick and the proportion of bone 
is greater. The belly is cured for bacon, the head 
and feet are soused or pickled, and the trimmings 
of fat and lean are chopped, highly seasoned, 
and used for sausage, or combined with meal 
and made into scrapple. 

To select fresh pork. The meat should be firm 
and of a pale red colour, the fat hard and white 
and the skin white and clear. Yellowish fat, 
with kernels in it, and soft, flabby flesh are an 
indication of inferior pork. 

Boiled Ham or Shoulder 
Put a ham or shoulder in a large enough cooker- 
pail to allow of its being covered with eight or 
ten quarts of water. A special oblong or extra 
deep utensil may be required for cooking hams 
and such very large cuts of meat. Put in the 
ham, add cold water to fill the utensil, and bring 
it to a boil. This will serve to draw out a good 
deal of the salt from the meat and will not extract 
much of the meat flavour, if the ham be whole. A 



PORK 123 

cut ham may be covered with boihng water which 
will seal the pores on the surface of the meat and 
help to retain its juices. Allow the ham to 
simmer for twenty minutes, or, if very large, for 
one-half hour, then put it into a cooker for seven 
hours or more. The larger the ham the greater 
the quantity of water must be, a fifteen-pound 
ham taking as much as fifteen quarts of water. 
Success in cooking large cuts of meat will depend 
to a great extent upon using sufficient water. 
Fresh Pork with Sauerkraut 

Wash and gash a two-pound piece of fresh, 
lean pork into slices. Put it with one quart of 
sauerkraut into a cooker-pail of boiling salted 
water. Let it boil for fifteen minutes, tightly 
covered. Place it in a cooker for eight or ten 
hours. Reheat till boiling, drain it, and serve 
the pork in a platter, with the sauerkraut arranged 
as a border; or put the sauerkraut into a vegetable 
dish. It grows cold quickly and must be served 
promptly and on hot dishes. 

Serves six or eight persons. 

Head Cheese 

Cut a hog's head into four pieces. Remove 
the brain, ears, skin, snout, and eyes. Cut off 
the fat to try out for lard. Put the lean and 
bony parts to soak in cold water over night to 
extract the blood. Clean the head thoroughly, 



124 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

put it into a cooker-pail, cover it with cold water, 
boil it for fifteen minutes and put it into the 
cooker for ten hours or more. If the meat 
will not then slip readily from the bones, bring 
it again to a boil and put it into the cooker until 
it will (perhaps six hours more). Remove the 
bones and hard gristle, drain off the liquor, 
reserving it for future use. Put the meat through 
a food-chopper, return it to the cooker-pail 
with enough of the liquor to cover it, and salt, 
pepper, and powdered sage to taste. Let it 
boil, put it into a cooker for an hour or more, 
then pour it into a shallow pan or dish; cover 
it with cheese-cloth and a board with a weight, 
to hold it in place. When cold it will be solid, 
and is ready to serve, thinly sliced. 

Souse 

Treat a hog's head in the same manner as for 
head cheese, adding a little vinegar with the 
other seasonings. 

Scrapple 

Treat a hog's head in the same manner as for 
head cheese, up to the point where the liquor 
is added to the chopped meat. The heart and 
liver may also be cooked with the head, and any 
scraps or bloody parts of the meat may be soaked 
and cooked with it. When the meat is freed 
from bone, gristle, and skin, and chopped finely, 



PORK U5 

and all the liquor is added to it, it is seasoned 
with salt, pepper, sage, thyme or marjoram, 
and brought to a boil. Enough corn-meal, 
or corn-meal and buckwheat flour in the pro- 
portion of one-third cupful of buckwheat to two- 
thirds of a cupful of corn-meal, is added, to make 
the mixture of the consistency of corn-meal mush. 
About one cupful of the two combined will be 
required for each three pints of the pork mix- 
ture. Let this come to a boil, stirring it constantly; 
boil it five minutes, and put it into a cooker for 
four hours or more. Pour it into a mould or bread 
pan and, when cold, slice and fry it like sausage. 

Pickled Pigs' Feet 
Wash the pigs' feet, soak them in warm water 
for one-half hour, then scrub and scrape them 
well; soak them again for twelve hours in cold, 
salted water, and clean them again. If neces- 
sary, singe them; remove the toes, and bring 
them to a boil in salted water to more than cover 
them. Boil them five minutes, and cook them 
for ten hours or more in a cooker. If not tender, 
reheat them till boiling, and cook them again. 
Remove them from the water, split them with 
a cleaver, unless this is done before cooking, pack 
them in a jar, and cover them with hot, spiced 
vinegar, preferably made from white wine. They 
are eaten cold, or dipped in batter and fried. 



XVI 
POULTRY 

IN buying poultry select that which has 
clean, unbroken skin and is as fat as 
possible. Young chickens have often a darker 
appearance than old, owing to the fact that 
there is less fat under the skin or that the skin 
is thinner. They have few hairs, many pin- 
feathers, and the end of the breast-bone, toward 
the tail, is limber and cartilaginous. In old 
chickens (fowl) this bone is stiff, there are many 
hairs, few pin-feathers, and the scales on the 
legs are hard and horny. The wing joint is 
firm in old chickens, but is sometimes broken by 
poultry dealers in order to make the purchaser 
think the poultry younger than it is. 

Chickens are frequently kept in cold storage 
for months, or even years, and they undergo 
decided changes during these periods. The 
effect of eating such storage poultry is still under 
debate; but, while there is uncertainty as to 
whether they may not be responsible for some 
obscure intestinal disorders or other disturbances, 

126 



POULTRY 127 

it is well to know how to tell them from fresh- 
killed birds. In an article entitled "Changes 
Taking Place in Chickens in Cold Storage," in 
the Yearbook of the Department of Agriculture, 
for 1907, we read that the fresh chicken is a 
pale, soft yellow, without any tinge or sugges- 
tion of green in the colour of the skin, while there 
is enough translucency to show through it the 
delicate pink of the muscles underneath. It 
can be plainly seen that the pink tint is not of 
the skin itself. While the skin is perfectly flexible, 
and is not adherent over any part of the body, it 
is well filled by the tissues below, so that areas 
distended by either fluids or gases are want- 
ing. The feather papillae are perfectly dis- 
tinct, and, though of the same tint as the skin, 
are plainly visible because of their elevation. 
In those regions where the papillae are most 
numerous, or support heavier feathers, they 
lend a much brighter yellow hue to the skin. 
The neck is smooth and well rounded, the comb 
and gills red, and the eye full. 

With storage birds the skin becomes somewhat 
dried, and finally quite leathery and stretched in 
appearance; is less translucent than that of the 
fresh, and the feather papillae tend to flatten and 
disappear. In time the colour of the skin alters in 
places to browns, reds, purples, or greenish tints. 



128 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

Care of poultry. Poultry should be drawn as 
soon as purchased, if it has not been already 
done; it should be wiped out with a dry cloth, 
if not to be cooked immediately, and kept in 
a cold place. Old chickens can be made as 
tender as young chickens in a cooker, and will 
have more flavour. 

To draw poultry. Cut off the head, turn back 
the skin of the neck and cut off the neck close 
to the body. If the crop has food in it, remove 
it from the neck, otherwise it will come out with 
the other organs. Cut off the windpipe. Make 
an opening above the vent with a small sharp 
knife, cut around the vent, being careful not to 
cut into the intestine. Put the hand just inside 
the wall of the body and work it carefully over 
the whole inner surface of the body, detach- 
ing the organs in one mass. When the hand 
can pass freely all around them, draw them all 
out together. The lungs and kidneys, imbedded 
in the bones, will remain behind and must be 
removed separately. Cut out the little oil bag 
on the back of the tail. Singe the chicken, 
and wash it well inside and outside. The heart, 
liver, and gizzard are the giblets, and are boiled 
and often used in the gravy. 

To cut up a chicken. After it is drawn, a chicken 
may be cut for stew or fricassee, into thir- 



POULTRY 129 

teen pieces. First remove the neck, then the 
legs, by cutting the skin, etc., that holds them 
to the body; then cut on either side down to the 
joint which lies almost at the back. Bend the 
leg out from the body and this will break the 
ligaments that hold it. Separate the two joints 
of the leg in large chickens. Remove the wings 
by cutting around the joints and bending them 
out as the leg was done. Next cut off the wish- 
bone by placing the knife across the breast and 






® 

Figure No. 11. 
Method of cutting chicken for stew or fricassee. 

cutting close tc the end of the breast-bone toward 
the neck. If desired, remove the meat from the 
breast in two fillets, beginning to cut at the top and 
following the bone closely, separating the meat 
from the breast-bone and sides of the chicken. 
Next cut from the back to the front, through the 
ribs. Separate the "side bone" from one side, 
and break the back in two where the ribs end. 
To truss poultry. Stuff the poultry two-thirds 



130 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

full, from the tail opening. It may be skewered 
into shape, but the quickest and easiest way is 
to tie it. The slight mark left by the string 
on the breast may be covered with a garnish of 
parsley or fine celery leaves. Fold the neck 
skin under the body, putting the loop end of a 
doubled piece of string under it; bring the ends 
of string up and cross them over the breast so 
as to hold the wings in place; carry the string 
down over the thighs to the under side of the 




Figure No. 12. 
Chicken, trussed for roasting or braising. 

tail to hold the thighs in place, and bring it up 
around the tail and the ends of the drumsticks, 
and tie it securely. This will hold the leg bones 
down to the tail. If this is not sufficient to hold 
in the stuffing, close the opening with a skewer, 
or sew it with heavy thread before trussing 
the bird. Old chickens, turkeys, and tough 
ducks or geese can be stuffed, trussed, and cooked 
for some hours in a cooker then be removed and 
browned in an oven. 



POULTRY 131 

Stuffing for Poultry 
I cup soft breadcrumbs i teaspoon powdered thyme or 

I tablespoon butter sage 

I teaspoon salt i teaspoon grated onion 

J teaspoon pepper 2 tablespoons water 

Stewed Chicken 
Draw and cut up a fowl. Put it, with the 
giblets, in enough boiling salted water (one 
teaspoonful of salt to each quart of water) to 
cover it. Let it boil for ten minutes and put 
it into a cooker for ten hours or more. If not 
quite tender, bring it again to a boil and cook 
it for from six to eight hours, depending upon 
its toughness. Skim off as much as possible of 
the fat from the liquor, pour off some of the 
liquor and save it to use as soup or stock, and 
thicken the remainder with two tablespoonfuls 
of flour for each cup of liquid, mixed to a paste 
with an equal quantity of water. A beaten 
egg or two, stirred into the gravy just before 
serving, improves it. Add pepper and salt 
to, taste, and serve the chicken on a hot platter 
with the gravy poured around it. The platter 
may be garnished with boiled rice piled about 
the chicken. 

Chicken Fricassee 
Draw a fowl and cut it in pieces, cook it as 
directed for stewed chicken, dredge the cooked 



132 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

pieces with salt and pepper, roll them in flour 
and saute them in fat taken from the stewed 
chicken. When richly browned, place the pieces 
on a hot platter and pour around them a brown 
sauce, made with the fat and the stock from the 
stewed chicken. Chicken fricassee is often 
served on a platter of hot toast. 
Chicken Pie 

Prepare and cook the chicken as for stewed 
chicken; cut the meat from the bones, put it into 
a baking-dish, cover it with chicken gravy, and 
put over the top a crust made as directed for 
meat pie on page 102. Bake this for thirty min- 
utes in a moderate oven. 

Curried Chicken 

Prepare and cook one fowl as for stewed chick- 
en, adding two onions, pared and cut into slices. 
Add one tablespoonful of curry powder to the flour 
when thickening the gravy. Or the chicken may 
be rolled in flour and browned in butter, and the 
curry powder added before putting it into the 
cooker. It is served with a border of boiled rice. 

Creamed Chicken 
Prepare and cook a fowl as directed for 
stewed chicken. Make White Sauce, using 
half chicken stock and half cream for the liquid. 
A little grated onion and one-fourth can of 
mushrooms may be added. 



POULTRY 133 

Braised Chicken 
Draw, stuff, truss and roast a young chicken 
in a hot oven until it is brown; put it into a hot 
cooker-pail with water about one inch deep 
in the pan. Cover it quickly, bring it to a boil, 
and put it into a cooker for two and one-half 
hours or more. Make a brown sauce of the 
liquor in the pan. The giblets may be added 
when the chicken is put into the water, and may 
be chopped and added to the gravy. Only 
young, tender chicken can be treated in this way. 
A tough bird may be trussed and cooked in 
water to half cover it for ten or twelve hours 
before it is stuffed and browned. Baste it 
when in the oven with fat taken from the broth. 
Jellied Chicken 
Draw, clean, and cut up a fowl of about four 
or five pounds. Put it into a cooker-pail, add 
one teaspoonful of salt, two or three slices of 
onion, and cover the fowl with boiling water. 
Boil it for ten minutes, then put it in the cooker 
for ten or twelve hours. Boil it up again and 
replace it in the cooker for six hours or more. 
Repeat this if the meat is not found to be ten- 
der enough to fall readily from the bones. Remove 
the meat from the bones; take off the skin and 
season the meat with salt and pepper. Skim 
off all possible fat from the liquor and boil it down 



134 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

to about one cupful; strain it, and take off" the 
remaining fat. Decorate the bottom of a mould 
or bread pan with parsley and slices of hard- 
cooked egg, pack in the meat and pour over it 
the stock. Place the meat under a weight, 
and leave it in a cold place till firm. 

Braised Duck 
Prepare and cook the duck in the same man- 
ner as braised chicken. If the duck is tough 
it may be cooked for eight or more hours in 
water in the cooker, then stuffed and browned 
in the oven, basting it with fat from the broth. 

Braised Goose 

Prepare it as braised chicken; or, if it is tough, 
cook it in water in a cooker as old braised chicken, 
until it is nearly tender. Remove it, stuff it, 
and brown it in a hot oven, basting it with fat 
from the broth. 

Potted Pigeons 

Clean, stuff, and truss six pigeons, place them 
upright in a cooker-pail and pour over them 
one quart of water in which celery has been 
cooked. If the water was not salted for the 
celery, add one teaspoonful of salt. Cover 
the pail, boil the birds for five minutes, and 
put them into a cooker for five or six hours, 
or till tender. Remove them from the water, 
sprinkle them with salt and pepper, dredge 



POULTRY 135 

them with flour, and brown the entire surface 
in pork fat. Make two cups of Brown Sauce, 
using butter and stock from the pigeons; heat 
the birds in this, place each one on a piece of 
dry toast, and pour the gravy over it. Gar- 
nish it with parsley. 



XVII 
VEGETABLES 

GENERAL DIRECTIONS FOR COOKING VEGETABLES 

THE flavour of vegetables is best preserved if 
they are put on to cook in boiling water. 
For cooking in a fireless cooker the water must 
be salted when the vegetables are started. The 
expression '' salted water," as used in this book, 
means water to each quart of which one tea- 
spoonful of salt has been added. Such vege- 
tables as asparagus, peas, lima beans, etc., 
which have a delicate flavour, must be cooked 
with very little water; usually in a smaller pail 
or pan set into a larger cooker-pail of water. 
All vegetables should be washed before cooking, 
and such as potatoes, beets, turnips, etc., should 
be scrubbed with a small scrubbing-brush, kept 
for that purpose. Few vegetables are injured 
by overcooking in a fireless cooker. 

Asparagus 
Wash, and if desired, break into two-inch 
pieces, as much of the asparagus as will snap 

136 



VEGETABLES 137 

easily. That which will not snap, if fresh, will 
be too tough to eat. Cook it in enough salted 
water to barely cover the asparagus, setting the 
pan in a large cooker-pail of boiling water. 
It will be tender in one hour. 

Cabbage 

Cut a head of cabbage into two pieces; soak 
it in a large bowl of salted water for one-half 
hour or more. Cut it in quarters or smaller 
pieces, discarding the tough central stalk and 
any leaves which may not be perfect. Put it into 
four quarts of salted water to which one-fourth of 
a teaspoonful of baking soda has been added. 
Bring it to a boil and put it into a hay-box for 
from one and one-half to twelve hours. Winter 
cabbage will require three or four hours of cooking 
at the least. Drain it into a colander and serve 
it with White Sauce or with butter, pepper, and 
salt to taste. If cooked many hours, reheat it 
before serving. 

Cauliflower 

Soak the whole head in a large bowl of salted 
water for one-half hour or more. If insects are 
in it this will cause them to crawl out. Bring 
it to a boil in four quarts of boiling salted water 
and cook it in a hay-box from one and one- 
quarter to four hours. If much overcooked it 
will be difficult to remove the head whole. Take 



138 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

it out with a skimmer and serve it on a platter, 
pouring over it one cupful of White Sauce. A 
large head w^ill require more sauce. 

Cauliflower a la Hollandaise is prepared in 
the same way, substituting Hollandaise Sauce for 
White Sauce. 

Cauliflower au Gratin is prepared by removing 
the cooked head to a baking dish, covering it 
with buttered crumbs and baking it until the 
crumbs are brown, or by covering it with grated 
cheese before the crumbs are added. 

Carrots 
Scrub and scrape carrots. (Very young carrots 
need not be scraped.) Cover them with boiling 
salted water, bring them to a boil and put them 
into a cooker for from one to three hours, accord- 
ing to the age and condition of the carrots. 
They will not be injured by cooking twelve 
hours. If old and wilted they should be soaked 
several hours in cold water before being prepared 
for cooking. When done, cut young carrots in 
rounds or strips, or serve them whole. Old 
carrots may be cut into slices before cook- 
ing. Drain away most of the water and make 
Sauce for Vegetables, using the remainder of 
the water. Or all the water may be drained off 
and the carrots served with butter, salt, and 
pepper to taste. 



VEGETABLES 139 

Corn 

Husk fresh green corn, using a clean whisk- 
broom to remove the silk that clings to the ear. 
Put it into a cooker-pail, cover it with salted water, 
bring it to a boil and put it into the cooker for 
from fifty minutes to two hours. Drain it and 
serve it on a hot platter, covering it with a napkin. 
Beets 

Scrub new beets, that is, those freshly pulled. 
Cut off the stalks three inches from the beets, put 
them into four quarts or more of boiling, salted 
water, boil five minutes, and put them into a 
cooker for five hours or more. Old beets, if 
wilted, should be soaked till firm, and cooked as 
new beets. They will require six or more hours 
according to their age and condition. When 
sufficiently cooked the skin of beets will easily slip 
off". Remove them from the water one by one, 
peel and slice them. Serve them with butter, 
pepper, and salt. If they cool while slicing them, 
reheat them before serving. 

Fresh Shelled Beans 
Wash from one pint to one quart of fresh 
shelled beans, put them into three quarts of boiling 
salted water, to which one-fourth teaspoonful 
of soda has been added, boil, and put them into 
a hay-box for two and one-half hours. They 
are not injured by several hours' cooking. Drain 



140 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

them and add salt, pepper, and butter to taste. 
The exact quantity of water in which the beans 
are cooked is not material. They will bear a 
large amount, as their flavour is strong. 

String Beans 

2 qts. string beans 3 teaspoons salt 

3 qts, water J teaspoon baking soda 

Wash the beans, cut them into small pieces, and 
put them on to boil with the water, salt, and soda. 
Put them into a cooker for six hours. They will 
not be injured by cooking for ten or twelve hours. 
If fewer beans are to be cooked, the water must 
not be decreased, unless the pail of beans is full 
or set into a larger pail of boiling water. 

Serves six or eight persons. 

Lima Beans 
Wash the beans and put them on to cook in 
boiling salted water, to each quart of which one- 
eighth of a teaspoonful of soda has been added. 
If the quantity is small, put them into a small 
pail set into a larger pail of water. If the whole 
will fill a two-quart cooker-pail it will cook without 
the larger pail. Put them into a cooker for one 
and one-half hours or more. 

Dried Lima Beans 
Soak the beans over night, put them to boil 
in at least twice their bulk of salted v/ater. Add 



VEGETABLES 141 

one-fourth teaspoonful of soda to each quart of 
water. Boil, and put them into a cooker for 
three or four hours or more. Drain, add butter, 
pepper, and salt, and reheat them before serving, 
if necessary. 

Dried Navy Beans 

Soak one cupful of beans over night. In the 
morning drain off the water, add three quarts of 
boiling salted water and one teaspoonful of soda. 
Boil, and put them into the cooker for eight hours 
or more. When soft, drain them and add butter, 
pepper, and salt to taste. Or make pork and 
beans of them. 

Serves five or six persons. 

Chard 

Put a pint of water and a teaspoonful of salt 
into a cooker-pail. When boiling add, little by 
little, the well-washed chard. If, after boiling 
two or three minutes, there is not enough water 
to cover the chard, add more boiling water. If 
a small amount of chard is cooked the pail or pan 
must be set into a cooker-pail of boiling water. 
Put it into a cooker for three hours or more. 
Drain in a colander and add salt, pepper, and 
butter to taste. Serve with slices of hard-cooked 
eggs as a garnish. 

One dozen stalks and leaves serve four or five 
persons. Many persons cook the stalks separately 



142 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

and serve them with a white sauce, using only 
the leaves for greens. 

Spinach 
Cook in the same manner as chard, allowing 
two hours or more in the cooker. 

One peck serves six or eight persons. 

Beet Greens 
Cook in the same manner as chard, allowing 
two and one-half hours or more in the cooker. 
Do not remove the little beets. When cooked, 
cut through the greens frequently with a knife, 
to make them less awkward for serving. 

Stewed Celery 

3 cups prepared celery i teaspoon salt 

I qt. water 

Scrub the celery with a small brush, remove the 
strings, cut it in one-half-inch pieces and drop 
it into the boiling salted water. When it is 
boiling, set the pail or pan into a cooker-pail 
of boiling water and put it into the cooker for 
from two to four hours or longer, depending 
upon the toughness of the stalks. It will not be 
injured by long cooking. When tender, drain 
it, saving one-half cupful of the water to use in 
making the sauce. Serve with one cupful of 
Sauce for Vegetables. 

Serves six or eight persons. 



VEGETABLES 143 

Macaroni 

J lb. macaroni (i cup broken i qt. water 
in pieces) i teaspoon salt 

Break the macaroni into one-inch pieces. 
Soak it in cold water for one hour, then drain it; 
or cook it without soaking. Drop it into the 
boiling water, let it boil, and put it into the hay- 
box for one and one-half hours if soaked, or two 
hours if not soaked. Stand the pail or pan in a 
cooker-pail of boiling water while in the hay-box. 
Macaroni will break to pieces if cooked too long. 
When tender, drain it in a colander and serve it 
plain, seasoned to taste with salt and pepper, or 
make it into Macaroni and Cheese or Macaroni 
and Ham. 

Serves five or six persons. 

Macaroni Italienne 

I cup macaroni in one-inch 4 cloves 

pieces i small bay leaf 

I pt. stewed and strained i teaspoon salt 

tomatoes 2 teaspoons sugar 

I cup stock or water ^ teaspoon pepper 

I medium-sized onion i cup cheese, grated or shaved 

Soak the macaroni in cold w^ater for one hour; 
stick the cloves into the onion. Drain the mac- 
aroni, put it into a pan or pail, add the other 
ingredients, except the cheese, and, when boiling, 
set the pan or pail into a cooker-pail of boiling 
water and put it into a cooker for two hours. 



144 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

Remove the onion and bay leaf and add the 
cheese. If it cannot be served as soon as the 
cheese is melted, slip the pail back into the 
cooker. 

Serves five or six persons. 

Macaroni Milanaise 

I cup macaroni i cup water 

1 small onion i tablespoon butter 

2 cloves ^ cup grated cheese 
I pt. tomatoes, stewed and 6 sliced mushrooms 

strained J cup smoked tongue or ham, 

cut in strips 

Break the macaroni, soak it for one hour, then 
drain it, and put it, v^ith the other ingredients, 
except the last three, into a pan or pail. When 
boiling, set the pan into a cooker-pail of boiling 
v^^ater and put it into a cooker for tv^o hours. 
Remove the onion and cloves, add the last three 
ingredients, and v^hen the cheese is melted it is 
ready to serve. If it cannot be served at once 
replace it in the cooker. 

Serves six or seven persons. 

Spaghetti 
Spaghetti may be treated in the same way 
as macaroni. It is a similar , paste moulded 
into a different form. Vermicelli is also the 
same paste, moulded into still finer threads. It 
is frequently used in soups, and should be broken 



VEGETABLES 145 

into short pieces and added not more than two 
hours before it is served, or it will become so 
soft as to break to pieces and lose its attractive 
appearance. 

Noodles 
Noodles are made from a richer paste than 
macaroni, having eggs in place of water to supply 
the moisture. They may be used exactly as 
macaroni and similar pastes. They should not 
be soaked before cooking. 

Creamed Mushrooms 
Wash the mushrooms, cut them in slices if 
they are large, bring them to a boil in enough 
salted water to nearly cover them. It should 
take about a pint for each quart of mushrooms. 
Set the pan or pail in a cooker-pail of boiling 
water and put it into the cooker for from two 
to six hours. When it is nearly time to serve 
them, drain the water off, reserving three-fourths 
of a cupful to use in making one and one-half 
cupfuls of Sauce for Vegetables, or White Sauce. 

Fricasseed Mushrooms 
Wash the mushrooms and dry them thor- 
oughly on a towel. Let them stand on the towel 
some time before cooking them, so that they 
may drain dry. Fry them in butter till they 
are brown in a cooker-pail or pan, and make 
one and one-half cupfuls of Brown Sauce for 



146 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

each quart of mushrooms, using any Hquor 
that may have come from them, and water for 
the liquid of the sauce. Pour this sauce over 
the mushrooms. If a small quantity of mush- 
rooms is being cooked, stand the pail or pan 
in a large cooker-pail of boiling water. Put 
them into a cooker for two hours or more. 
Onions 

Pare onions under water, to avoid their irri- 
tating effect on the eyes. They are so strong 
in flavour that they will bear an excess of water 
in cooking. Salt the water as directed in the 
General Directions for Cooking Vegetables. 
Four quarts of water may be used for cooking 
one quart of onions. Bring them to a boil in 
a cooker-pail, and put them into a hay-box for 
from two hours, for very tender, fresh onions, 
to eight hours or more. When done, drain them 
dry and add butter, pepper, and salt to taste 
and, if desired, a little cream or milk. If the 
onions are very large let them boil five minutes 
before putting them into the hay-box. 
Boiled Potatoes 

Scrub potatoes well with a small scrubbing- 
brush. Pare them, and if they are inclined to 
be black when cooked, let them stand an hour 
or more in cold water before cooking them. 
Cook them in a large amount of boiling salted 



VEGETABLES 



147 



water in a cooker-pail. When they have boiled 
one minute put them into the cooker for from 
one and one-half to three hours, depending upon 
their quantity, size, and age. New potatoes 
will not require so long to cook as old. Large 
potatoes cut into pieces will cook in one hour. 
Creamy Potatoes 

1 qt. sliced potatoes 2 teaspoons salt 

2 tablespoons butter | teaspoon pepper 

f pt. milk 

Wash and pare the potatoes and cut them into 
thin slices. Four medium-sized potatoes will 
make a quart when sliced. Put all the ingredients 
together in a small cooker-pail or pan, set this 
in a large cooker-pail of boiling water, and 
when it is steaming hot, put the small utensil 
directly over the heat until it boils. Replace 
it in the pail of boiling water and set it in the 
cooker for one hour. 

Serves four or five persons. 

Stewed Potatoes 

1 qt. cold, diced potatoes 2 tablespoons flour 

2 cups milk 2 teaspoons salt 

4 tablespoons butter j teaspoon pepper 

2 tablespoons chopped parsley 

Melt the butter in a small cooker-pail or pan, 
add the flour and blend the two evenly, then 
add the milk, one-third at a time; when it boils, 
put in the salt, pepper, and potatoes. Let 



148 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

the whole reach boiling point and set it in a 
large cooker-pail of boiling water, unless it 
fills a small pail full, in which case it can be 
placed directly in a cooker nest which exactly 
fits it, and left for one hour or more. 

Serves six or eight persons. 
Peas 

Shell young, green peas and bring them to a 
boil, using about one cupful of salted water for 
each quart of shelled peas. Put the pail or pan 
inside of another cooker-pail of boiling water 
and set all in a cooker for from one to two hours 
or more. Old peas may be left all night or all 
day in the cooker. 

Rice, No. I 

I cup rice 3 qts water 

3 teaspoons salt 

Look over the rice and remove any husks or 
undesirable substances. Wash it by allowing 
cold water to run through a strainer containing 
the rice. Sprinkle it, gradually, into the boiling 
salted water in a cooker-pail. When it is boil- 
ing put it into a hay-box for one hour. There 
is a considerable difference in rice, and the time 
for cooking it will vary; but one hour will usually 
be found sufficient. Rice is injured by over- 
cooking. When the rice is soft, drain it in a 
colander and set this in the oven, with the door 



VEGETABLES 149 

open, for five minutes. Serve at once. Rice, 
when cooked, swells to four times its original bulk. 
Serves six or eight persons. 

Rice, No. 2 

I cup rice 3 to 4 cups water 

I teaspoon salt 

Look over and wash the rice as directed in the 
recipe for Rice, No. i. Bring it to a boil in the 
salted water, and put it into a hay-box for one hour. 

Serves six or eight persons. 

Savoury Rice 

I cup rice 4^ cups highly seasoned stock 

2 tablespoons butter 

Look over and wash rice as directed in the 
previous recipes, bring it to a boil in the stock, 
with the butter, and cook it in a hay-box for one 
hour, standing the pail or pan that contains it 
in a larger pail of water, unless more than one 
cupful of rice is being cooked and the cooker- 
pail would be at least two-thirds full. Serve 
with a border of salted peanuts. The rice 
should be moist but not sticky when cooked. 

Serves eight or ten persons. 

Turkish Pilaf 

J cup rice i teaspoon sugar 

2 tablespoons chopped green ij cups stock or water 

sweet pepper or onion i tablespoon butter 

I cup tomatoes l teaspoon salt 



150 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

Pick over and wash the rice, as directed in 
the -recipe for boiled rice, No. i. Chop the 
onion or pepper, discarding the seeds, and, 
if raw tomatoes are used, remove the skins and 
cut the tomatoes in pieces before measuring 
them. Put all the ingredients together in a 
small cooker-pail or pan, and, when boiling, 
set it in a larger cooker-pail of boiling water. 
Put it into a cooker for one hour. When ready 
to serve it, stir it lightly with a fork till all the 
ingredients are evenly mixed. Pilaf is injured 
by much overcooking. 

Serves five or six persons. 

Samp (Coarse Hominy) 

^ cup samp I teaspoon salt 

I cup cold water 3 cups boiling water 

Soak the samp in the cold water for eight 
hours or more. Add the salt and boiling water; 
boil it hard for one hour, and put it into a cooker 
for from six to twelve hours. It is improved 
by the longer cooking. The pail or pan in which 
it is cooked should be stood in a large cooker-pail 
of boiling water. A tablespoonful of butter may 
be added before serving if it is used as a vegetable. 
Serves five or six persons. 

Summer Squash 
Scrub young, tender summer squashes and 
cook them whole, in the cooker, with enough 



VEGETABLES 151 

salted boiling water to fully cover them, for 
from one to three hours. If they are not young 
enough to have a soft rind, they must be pared 
and the seeds removed. It will then be better to 
cook them as winter squash. When they are 
tender, drain off the water and mash the squashes 
in a colander. This will allow a little of the juice 
to drain away and leave the squashes drier. 
Season them highly with salt and pepper, and 
add two tablespoonfuls of butter to each pint 
of squash. If not very hot when mashed, reheat 
before serving. 

Stewed Tomatoes 

1 qt. tomatoes i onion, sliced 

2 teaspoons salt ^ cup buttered crumbs 
J teaspoon pepper 2 teaspoons sugar 

Scald and peel the tomatoes, remove the cores, 
and cut them into pieces before measuring 
them. Add the other ingredients, omitting the 
sugar and crumbs, if preferred; bring all to a 
boil, and put them into a cooker for from one 
to two hours or more. They will not be injured 
by indefinite cooking. 

Serves five or six persons. 

Hubbard or Winter Squash 
Scrub, pare and cut the squash into pieces, 
removing the seeds. Put it into a strainer that 
will fit into the cooker-pail, placing a rack under 



152 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

it to raise it above the water in the pail. Fill 
the pail below the strainer with boiling water. 
Steam the squash directly over the fire for ten 
minutes, then put it into the cooker for from 
five to eight hours, depending upon the age of 
the squash and the amount cooked. A pail 
of not less than six quarts' capacity should be 
used, so that there may be at least three quarts 
of water under the squash. When tender, mash 
it through the strainer, or drain it in a cheese 
cloth, squeezing it as dry as possible. If it is 
to be served as a vegetable, season it highly with 
salt and pepper, and add two or three tablespoon- 
fuls of butter to each pint of squash. If it is 
to be made into pies, omit these ingredients. 
Pumpkin 

Select a pumpkin with a soft rind, if possible. 
Prepare and cook it in the same manner as 
winter squash. It may be used as a vegetable 
or made into pies. 

Creamed Turnips 

Scrub, pare, and cut turnips into half-inch dice. 
Cook each pint of prepared turnips with at 
least one quart of boiling salted water, in the 
cooker, for from one and one-half to three hours 
or more. When tender, drain them, reserving 
enough of the water to make one cupful of Sauce 
for Vegetables for each pint of turnips. 



VEGETABLES 153 

Mashed Turnip 
Scrub and pare the turnips and cut them into 
pieces. Cook each pint of turnip with at least one 
quart of boiHng salted water in the cooker for 
from one and one-half hours to three hours or more. 
When tender, drain and mash them in a colander 
and add to each pint one teaspoonful of salt, 
one-fourth teaspoonful of pepper, and two table- 
spoonfuls or more of butter. Serve very hot. 

Italian Chestnuts 
I qt. chestnuts i| qts. water 

2 teaspoons salt 

Shell and blanch the nuts by the directions 
given on page 189. Bring them to a boil with 
salted water, put them in a cooker for from 
two to four hours. Press them through a potato 
ricer or serve them whole, adding a little butter 
if desired. One quart of nuts will make about 
one pint when shelled and blanched. 

Serves four or five persons. 

Brussels Sprouts 

1 qt. sprouts Salt 

2 or more qts. water Pepper 

Butter 

Wash the sprouts, bring them to a boil in salted 
water; put them into the cooker for from one to 
two hours, drain them and add salt, pepper, 
and butter to taste. 

Serves six or seven persons. 



XVIII 
STEAMED BREADS AND PUDDINGS 

GENERAL DIRECTIONS 

A DEEP mould is best for cooking steamed 
breads and raised puddings, since there 
will be less risk of the water's boiling over into 
the food, and a larger amount may be used. 
It is important to have one that is the right 
size for the recipe, for if it is filled too full, the 
mixture might rise and push off the cover or 
be heavy from its pressure, and if not sufficiently 
full, it would be unsteady in the water. The 
water in the pail should come to two-thirds of 
the height of the mould. The mould should 
be not less than half-full of dough, and, generally 
not more than two-thirds full. If a small mould 
or a number of small moulds are to be used in a 
large cooker-pail, stand them upon a rack or 
similar device to raise them until there may be 
no difficulty in filling the cooker-pail at least 
two-thirds full of water. The cover as well as 
the mould should be greased on the inside with 

154 



BREADS AND PUDDINGS 



155 



the same fat as that used in the dough or with 
butter. If a bread mould is not available, an 
empty baking-powder can, coffee can, or any 
tin can or box with straight sides which has a 
tight-fitting cover may be used, providing it is 
found by trial to be water-tight. If it leaks, 
it may be soldered at small expense, and may 
then be kept for cooking purposes only. Where 
a tightly covered can or box cannot be pro- 
cured, an uncovered utensil could be used by tying 
on securely a cover of heavy, well-greased paper. 

Boston Brown Bread 

I cup rye meal f tablespoon soda 

I cup graham flour f cup molasses 

I cup corn-meal 2 cups sour milk or 

I teaspoon salt if cups sweet milk or 

buttermilk 

Mix and sift the dry ingredients together. Mix 
the liquid ingredients and add them, gradually, 
to the dry mixture. Put the dough into a well- 
buttered, one-quart brown bread mould or water- 
tight can of the same capacity. Stand the 
mould in a six-quart cooker-pail in enough warm 
water to come two-thirds of the way up the mould. 
Bring it quickly to a boil and boil it half an hour. 
Put it into a hay-box for five hours. It will not 
be spoiled by six hours in the cooker, but will not 
have quite such a dry crust. If sweet milk is 



156 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

used add one tablespoonful of cream of tartar; 
or omit the soda and use, instead, two table- 
spoonfuls of baking powder. 
Serves six or eight persons. 

Graham Pudding 
i cup butter i^ cups graham flour 

^ cup molasses i teaspoon baking-powder 

J cup sweet milk ^ teaspoon soda 

I egg I teaspoon salt 

I cup raisins, seeded and cut in pieces 

Melt the butter, add the egg, well beaten, 
molasses and milk. Mix the dry ingredients and 
add to them the liquid mixture. Pour it into a 
well-buttered, one-quart mould or into several 
smaller moulds. Do not fill them more than two- 
thirds full. Place the moulds on a rack in a 
six-quart cooker-pail of warm water, bring quickly 
to a boil and boil thirty minutes if the larger 
cans are used; fifteen minutes, if the small cans 
are used. Put it into the cooker for five hours. 
If sour milk is available, omit the baking 
powder and add an extra one-fourth teaspoonful 
of soda. 

Serves six persons. 

Steamed Apple or Berry Pudding 

1 cup flour I tablespoon butter 

2 teaspoons baking powder f cup milk (sweet) 

i teaspoon salt 4 apples cut in eighths 

2 tablespoons sugar 



BREADS AND PUDDINGS 157 

Mix and sift the dry ingredients, cut the butter 
into them, or rub it in with the fingers, add the 
milk, cutting it in, Hghtly, with a knife. When 
the dough is barely mixed, so that no loose flour 
is left, toss it on a floured board and pat or roll 
it lightly till one-half inch thick. Spread the 
apples on it and roll it like a jelly roll. Carefully 
place it in a well-buttered, one-quart bread 
mould or water-tight can. Cover it tightly and 
stand it in at least a six-quart cooker-pail with 
enough warm water to come two-thirds of the way 
up its sides. Bring it quickly to a boil, boil thirty 
minutes and place it in a cooker for three hours. 
Serve immediately with warm apple sauce and 
Hard Sauce. If berries are used add one cupful 
to the dough, use one cupful of milk and omit the 
apple-sauce. 

Serves five or six persons. 

Suet Pudding 

i cup chopped suet J teaspoon salt 

^ cup molasses i teaspoon ginger 

§ cup sour milk J teaspoon grated nutmeg 

i^ cups flour I teaspoon ground cloves 

f teaspoon soda | teaspoon ground cinnamon 

Mix and sift the dry ingredients and add the 
suet. Mix the milk and molasses and add them 
to the dry mixture. Put the dough into a buttered, 
one-quart bread mould or water-tight covered 



158 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

can, and stand it in a six-quart cooker-pail of 
warm water which reaches two-thirds of the way 
up the can. Boil it one-half hour and put into 
the cooker for five hours. 
Serves six or eight persons. 

Rich Plum Pudding 

^ lb. raisins | cup flour 

J lb. currants J lb. brown sugar 

2 oz. candied orange peel ^ nutmeg, grated 

2 oz. citron | tablespoon powdered cinnamon 

5 lb. chopped suet |^ teaspoon ground allspice 

\ lb. stale, soft breadcrumbs J pint brandy 

(2i cups) 4 eggs 

Wash and seed the raisins; rub the currants 
with a little flour, then sift out the flour and allow 
water to run over the currants in the sieve until 
they are clean. Spread them on a towel and 
remove any stems, stones, etc., that may be 
among them. Let them stand, covered with a 
towel to keep out dust, until they are dry. Cut 
the orange peel and citron very fine, or put them 
through a food-chopper. Chop the suet or put 
it and the raisins through a coarse food-chopper; 
a trifle of the flour may be mixed with the suet 
before it is chopped to help to keep it from 
sticking to the chopping-knife. Beat the eggs till 
blended. Mix all the dry ingredients very thorough- 
ly, add the eggs and then the brandy. Put the 
pudding into a covered, greased mould, chopping 



BREADS AND PUDDINGS 159 

down through it a few times with the end of a 
knife, to be sure that it fills the mould without 
hollow spaces, and to avoid packing it firmly. 
Stand it in at least three quarts of warm water, 
in a cooker-pail. Heat it slowly but steadily 
till the water boils; let it boil one hour if the 
pudding is in one mould, or one-half hour if it is 
in two smaller moulds. Put it into the cooker 
for five hours. Remove it at once from the 
mould. If it is not to be used when first made, 
it may be kept several weeks, replaced in the 
mould and reheated before serving, by putting 
it in warm water, heating it to the boiling point 
and boiling it one-half hour or more. Serve it 
with brandy sauce. 

Serves ten or twelve persons. 

Steamed Cranberry Pudding 

J cup butter 2^ cups flour 

§ cup sugar i tablespoon baking powder 

2 eggs J cup milk 

I cup berries 

Rub the butter till it is soft and add the sugar 
gradually. Separate the eggs and add the beaten 
yolks to the butter and sugar. Mix and sift the 
baking powder and flour together and add a 
little flour, alternately with a part of the milk, 
to the dough. When all is in, add the stiffly 
beaten whites and the berries. Put the mixture 



i6o THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

into a buttered, one-quart mould, stand it in hot 
water and bring it, gradually, but steadily, to a 
boil. Let it boil one-half hour and put it into 
a cooker for five hours. Serve it v^ith sv^eetened 
cream or hard sauce. 

Serves six or eight persons. 

Ginger Pudding 
J cup butter 3^ teaspoons baking powder 

I cup sugar i teaspoon salt 

I egg 2 teaspoons ginger 

2i cups flour I cup milk 

Cream the butter, add the sugar gradually, 
and the v^ell-beaten egg. Mix and sift the dry 
ingredients and add a little of the mixture alter- 
nately with part of the milk. When all is in, 
put the dough into a buttered mould, cover it, 
and boil it one-half hour in a large cooker-pail of 
water, then put it into a cooker for five hours- 
Serve it with Vanilla Sauce or Nutmeg Sauce. 
Serves six or eight persons. 

St. James Pudding 

3 tablespoons butter | teaspoon salt 

^ cup molasses ^ teaspoon cloves 

^ cup thick, sour milk J teaspoon allspice 

i§ cups flour I teaspoon nutmeg 
f teaspoon soda J lb. dates, stoned and 

cut in pieces 

Mix the molasses, melted butter, and milk and 
add them to the dry ingredients, which have 



BREADS AND PUDDINGS i6i 

been mixed and sifted. Add the dates and turn 
the dough into a buttered, one-quart mould. 
Boil it in a large cooker-pail of water for one- 
half hour and put it into a cooker for five hours. 
Serve w^ith Hard Sauce. 
Serves five or six persons. 

Harvard Pudding 

J cup butter 3^ teaspoons baking powder 

J cup sugar i teaspoon salt 

I egg 2^ cups flour 

I cup milk 

Mix the butter and sugar, add the egg, then 
the dry ingredients, previously mixed and sifted 
together, alternating part of the dry ingredients 
and the milk until all are in. Turn it into a 
buttered, one-quart mould, boil in a large cooker 
pail of water for one-half hour and put it into a 
cooker for five hours. Serve it with warm apple 
sauce and Hard Sauce. 

Serves six or eight persons. 

Swiss Pudding 

1 cup butter Grated rind of one lemon 
J cup flour 5 eggs 

2 cups milk I cup powdered sugar 

Cream the butter, add the flour, gradually; 
scald the milk with the lemon rind, add it to the 
first mixture and cook it five minutes over hot 
water. Beat the yolks of eggs until they are 



i62 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

thick, add the sugar, gradually, and combine these 
with the cooked mixture; cool it and cut and fold in 
the stiffly beaten whites of eggs. Turn it into a 
buttered, one-quart mould, boil it in a large cooker- 
pail of water for twenty minutes, then put it into 
a cooker for three hours. 

Serves six or seven persons. 

Rice Pudding 

I qt. milk | teaspoon grated nutmeg 

I tablespoon butter | teaspoon salt 

J cup rice ^ cup sugar 

Heat the milk and other ingredients in a 
pudding pan over a cooker-pail of water. When 
the water boils, remove the pan and bring the 
pudding also to a boil. When it is boiling replace 
the pudding in the large pail of boiling water, 
cover and put it into the cooker for three or 
four hours. It may then be put into the oven 
for fifteen minutes and browned, although this 
is not necessary. This pudding may be cooked 
all night, but if cooked more than four hours 
it is not quite so creamy. Serve either hot or 
cold. One-half cupful of small, unbroken seed- 
less raisins may be added to this recipe. 

Serves six or eight persons. 

Indian Pudding 
2 cups water 2 teaspoons ginger 

I cup molasses f cup corn-meal 

I teaspoon salt 3 cups milk 



BREADS AND PUDDINGS 163 

Boil the water, molasses, salt, ginger, and meal 
together for ten minutes in a pail or pudding 
pan. Add the scalding milk. Bring it to a 
boil and set the pan in a cooker-pail of boiling 
water. Put it into a cooker for twelve hours. 
When done, brown in a hot oven. Serve with 
plain or whipped cream. 

If fresh ground or coarse Southern corn-meal 
is used it may first be sifted with a coarse sieve 
to remove the largest particles, which will not 
grow soft with this amount of cooking. Granu- 
lated corn-meal will not require sifting. 

Serves eight or ten persons. 

Tapioca or Rice Custard 

§ cup pearl tapioca 2 eggs 

f cup water i tablespoon butter 

3 cups milk | cup sugar 

§ teaspoon salt ^ teaspoon vanilla 

Soak the tapioca in the water for one hour. 
Add the milk, sugar, butter, and salt. Set the 
pan in a cooker-pail of boiling water. When 
the milk is scalding remove the pan and let 
the pudding come to a boil. Replace it in the 
boiling water and put it into the cooker for one 
and one-half hours. Take it from the cooker, 
add the beaten eggs, replace it in the pail of hot 
water and stir it over the fire till it registers 
165 degrees Fahrenheit, using a dairy or chemist's 



i64 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

thermometer. Put it again into the cooker 
for one hour. When cold, add the vanilla. 

Rice may be used instead of tapioca. 

Serves six or eight persons. 

Tapioca Fruit Pudding 

I cup pearl tapioca f cup sugar 

I qt. water | teaspoon salt 

6 whole medium-sized apples 2 tablespoons butter 

Soak the tapioca one hour, bring it to a boil 
with the other ingredients in a two-quart pail, 
if that will fill the cooker "nest," or in a pud- 
ding pan to be set over boiling water. Put it 
into a cooker for one hour. Serve cold with 
cream. If it is preferred to serve the pudding 
warm, use only three cups of w^ater. 

Serves six or eight persons. 

Chocolate Bread Pudding 

1 qt. milk 2 or 3 eggs 

, I pt. soft breadcrumbs J teaspoon salt 

2 oz. or squares chocolate I teaspoon vanilla 

§ cup granulated sugar 2 tablespoons powdered sugar 

Scald the milk, add the crumbs, and soak 
them for one-half hour. Separate the eggs, 
reserving two of the whites for a meringue. 
Beat the three yolks and one white of egg together 
and mix them with half the granulated sugar. 
Melt the chocolate in a pudding pan set in a 
cooker-pail of boiling water, add the remaining 



BREADS AND PUDDINGS 165 

half of the granulated sugar, and, gradually, 
the bread and milk, stirring it in well while 
still over the boiling water. Then add the yolks 
of eggs, salt, and vanilla. Stir it constantly, 
and cook it over the water until the pudding is 
160 degrees Fahrenheit. Set the pail contain- 
ing the pudding pan in a cooker for from one to 
two hours. When done, put it into a baking- 
dish suitable for serving, and cover the top with 
a meringue made by beating the whites of eggs 
till stiff, and adding the powdered sugar. Brown 
the meringue in a very hot oven, watching, it 
carefully that it may not scorch. Serve warm, 
with cream. If preferred, two whole eggs may 
be used in the pudding, and in place of the 
meringue use sweetened, whipped cream. 
Serves six or eight persons. 

Queen of Puddings 
I qt. hot milk 3 eggs 

I pt. soft breadcrumbs | teaspoon salt 

J cup sugar i teaspoon vanilla, or 

J cup melted butter J teaspoon spice 

§ glass jelly 

Melt the butter in the milk; soak the crumbs 
in the milk for one-half hour; beat the yolks 
of three eggs and the white of one till mixed, 
add the sugar, salt, and spice to them. Mix 
all together and pour it into a pudding pan 



i66 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

to fit in a cooker-pail of boiling water. Stir it 
till the pudding is i6o degrees Fahrenheit, then 
cover it and put it into a cooker for from one 
to two hours. Make a meringue as directed 
in the recipe for chocolate bread pudding, using 
the whites of two eggs and two tablespoonfuls 
of powdered sugar. Pour the pudding into a 
baking-dish for serving, spread the jelly on top 
and the meringue over this, and brown it in a 
hot oven. 

Serves six or eight persons. 

Steamed Cup Custard 
I qt. milk § cup sugar 

4 eggs I teaspoon vanilla, or 

|- teaspoon grated nutmeg 

Heat the milk, beat the eggs, add the sugar 
and flavouring. Strain the mixture into hot 
custard cups, set them on a wire rack or inverted 
strainer or perforated pan, which is arranged 
in a large cooker-pail of rapidly boiling water 
in such a way that several quarts of water may 
be below the custards but not touch the cups. 
Cover tightly at once and set it into a cooker 
for one-half hour. 

Serves six or eight persons. 

Compote of Rice and Fruit 
f cup rice 3 tablespoons sugar 

3f cups milk J- teaspoon salt 



BREADS AND PUDDINGS 



167 



Heat all together in a pan which is set into a 
cooker-pail of boiling water. When the water 
in the kettle boils, take out the pan and bring 
the mixture in it to a boil. Replace it in the 
pail and put it into the cooker for from one to 




Figure No. 13. 

Wire rack arranged for steaming, with perforated tin can as a 

stand to raise it above the v/ater. 



three hours. Put it into a mould, and, when 
shaped, but while still warm, turn it out on to 
a serving dish. Put stewed or canned fruit on 
top, and pour the juice around it. 
Serves six or eight persons. 



XIX 
FRUITS 

Apple Sauce 

l^ qts. sour apples i pt. water 

I cup sugar 

Wash, pare, core, and cut the apples into pieces, 
add the water and sugar and bring them to a 
boil. Put them into the cooker for from one to 
three hours or more, depending upon the ripe- 
ness of the apples. If they are not very tart 
or high-flavoured the juice of half a lemon v^ill 
improve them. Apple sauce will not be harmed 
by indefinite cooking in the cooker. Beat it 
well when cooked, or, if preferred, it may be 
strained. 

Serves six or eight persons. 

Stewed Apples in Syrup 
I qt. water lo cups sugar 

J lemon i8 cloves 

10 qts. prepared apples 

Pare, core, and cut tart apples in halves, unless 
they are small. Crab-apples may be used, but 
should not be pared nor cored. Wash and slice 

1 68 



FRUITS 169 

the lemon. Put all the ingredients into a cooker- 
pail and let them come to a boil. Put them 
into a cooker for three hours. If the apples 
are not very ripe they may cook as long as twelve 
hours v^ithout becoming too soft. 
Serves twenty-five to thirty persons. 

Apple Jelly 

6 quarts prepared apples 7 cups water 

Wash the apples carefully, cut them into small 
pieces and remove any decayed parts. Put the 
apples and water into a cooker-pail and let them 
come to a boil, then set them in a cooker for four 
hours or more. When very soft, pour them into 
a jelly bag and hang this over a large bowl for 
several hours or over night. Measure the juice, 
boil it for fifteen minutes, add three quarters as 
much sugar as the measure of juice, boil the 
mixture for five minutes more, or until a drop 
will jelly on a cold plate if left for a few minutes. 
Skim the jelly carefully while it is boiling. Fruit 
that is slightly under-ripe is best for jelly. When 
cold, seal it in the following manner: For each 
glass cut a small piece of white paper to fit inside 
it, lying on the jelly. This is to be dipped into 
alcohol or brandy and laid in place. Cover the 
top of the glass with another paper cut three- 
fourths of an inch larger than the top of the glass, 
and paste it down on the sides of the glass, using 



170 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

white of egg or any paste without a strong odor. 
Or seal jelly glasses with melted paraffin poured 
over the top until the jelly is completely covered. 
Do not let the paraffin get very hot or it may give 
a bad flavour to the jelly. 

Blackberry and Apple Jelly 

5 qts. blackberries 2 cups water 

Apple juice 

Look over the berries carefully; put them, with 
the water, into a cooker-pail and let them come to 
a boil. Put them in a cooker for three hours or 
more, then pour them into a jelly bag and let 
them drip for a least six hours. To each cupful 
of juice add half a cupful of apple juice prepared 
as for apple jelly. Boil these juices for fifteen 
minutes, then add five cups of sugar to each six 
cups of juice and boil it for five minutes longer 
or until a drop will jelly on a cold plate if left for 
a few minutes. Pour it into glasses and seal it 
when cold, as directed for apple jelly. 
Stewed Blackberries 

Pick over two quarts of berries, put them, with 
one cupful of sugar, into a cooker-pail and let 
them slowly come to a boil, stirring them occa- 
sionally as they are likely to scorch if cooked over 
a flame or very hot fire. When boiling, put them 
into a cooker for two hours or more. If cooked 
a very long time the juice comes out and leaves 



FRUITS 171 

the berries rather small and seedy, but otherwise 
no amount of cooking hurts them. 
Serves twelve or fifteen persons. 

Currant Jelly- 
Wash twelve quarts of currants, add one cupful 
of water and put them on to boil. Stir them 
occasionally so that they will not scorch. When 
boiling, put them into a cooker for four hours or 
more. Pour them into a jelly bag and let them 
drip for at least six hours. Measure the juice, 
and when it has boiled fifteen minutes add an 
equal measure of sugar. Boil the mixture for 
five minutes, or until a few drops will jelly on a 
cold plate if allowed to stand a few minutes. 
Skim the jelly several times during the boiling. 
When it is done, pour it into glasses, and seal it, 
when cold, as directed for apple jelly. 

Cranberry Jelly 

l^ qts. berries i cup water 

Sugar 

Wash the berries and remove any soft and 
decayed ones. Bring them to a boil with the^ 
water and put them into a cooker for one or two 
hours or more. Mash them through a fine 
strainer or sieve, measure the pulp and add equal 
parts or three-quarters of the amount in sugar. 
Boil five minutes, or till a few drops will jelly 
on a cold plate. Pour it into moulds which 



172 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

have been wet with cold water. When cold, it is 
ready to serve. 

Serves eight or ten persons. 

Cranberry Sauce 
1 1 qts. cranberries 2§ cups sugar 

I cup water 

Wash the berries and remove any that are soft 
and decayed. Put the berries, water, and sugar 
into a cooker-pail and bring them to a boil, stirring 
them frequently. When boiling, place the pail 
in a cooker for two and one-half hours or more. 
Serve cold. 

Serves eight or ten persons. 

Dried Fruits 
Wash the fruit very thoroughly. If it is first 
soaked for five minutes and then washed, it will 
clean more thoroughly. To each cupful of fruit 
add two cupfuls of water and let it soak for at 
least six hours. It is better if soaked ten hours. 
Add the sugar and bring all to a boil. Put it 
into a cooker for from two to twelve hours, depend- 
ing upon the fruit. Prunes are improved by long 
cooking, apples are not injured by it, but peaches 
or apricots, which are more attractive if they are 
not broken to pieces, will be better if removed 
as soon as they are perfectly soft. The amount 
of sugar varies for different fruits; apricots, 
prunelles, and such sour fruits requiring about 



FRUITS 173 

one cupful of sugar for each pint of dried fruit; 
prunes, peaches, and apples requiring from one- 
fourth to one-half as much. 

Stewed Rhubarb 
i^ qts. prepared rhubarb f cup water 

2 cups sugar 
Wash the stalks, pare them if old, cut them 
into one-inch pieces and put them, with the sugar 
and water, into a two quart cooker-pail. When 
boiHng, set the pail in a cooker for from one to 
three hours or more, depending upon the character 
of the rhubarb. Some people prefer to use brown 
sugar with rhubarb. 

Serves eight or ten persons. 

Stewed Figs 
I lb. figs Juice of one lemon 

I i cups sugar Water to cover figs 

Use pulled figs; those which come in boxes 
crack open when they are pressed and are not so 
attractive when stewed. The natural form is 
preserved in pulled figs, and they have, besides, 
the advantage of being cheaper. Wash the figs 
and put them, with the other ingredients, into a 
pan which fits the cooker-pail. Boil them, set 
the pan in the pail of boiling water and put it mto 
a cooker for seven hours or more. When cold, 
serve the figs with whipped cream. 
Serves eight or ten persons. 



174 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

Sweet Pickles 

8 lbs. fruit (prepared) f cup stick cinnamon 

5 lbs. brown sugar f cup whole allspice 

I qt. vinegar J cup cloves 

Prepare the fruit as directed below. Tie the 
spices in several cheese-cloth bags, and bring 
them to the boiling point in a cooker-pail, with the 
sugar and vinegar. Add the fruit, let it barely 
come to a boil, stirring it carefully, so that it will 
not break to pieces. Set it in a cooker for the 
time directed below for each particular kind of 
fruit. When it is sufficiently cooked, remove it 
from the syrup and put it into cans or crocks. 
Boil the syrup until it loses its thin, watery con- 
sistency, and pour it over the fruit. If this 
occupies more than one receptacle, put one spice 
bag in each. Cover or seal the cans while still 
hot. Sweet pickles should not be eaten until 
they have stood for several weeks. 

Peaches : 

Select firm, ripe peaches, rub them well with 
a woolen cloth, but do not pare them. Cook 
them whole, as directed above, for from one to 
two hours or more, depending upon the hard- 
ness and size of the peaches. 
Pears : 

Wash, pare and, if desired, cut the pears in 
half, removing the cores. Cook them, as directed 



FRUITS 



175 



above, for from one to two hours or more, depend- 
ing upon the hardness and size of the pears. 

Crah Apples: 

Wash and dry the apples and cut out the 
blossom. Drop them into the syrup as soon as 
the sugar is dissolved. Let them boil and cook 
them, as directed above, for from two to 
three hours. 

Watermelon Rind or Citron: 

Pare the rind and cut it into pieces. Put it 
into a cooker-pail of boiling salt and water, 
mixed in the proportion of one-half cup of salt 
to one gallon of water. Slip the pail at once into 
a cooker for ten hours or over night. When the 
rind is soft drain it and wash it in cold water. 
Drain it in a colander and add it to the syrup, 
prepared as directed above, and cook it, as 
other sweet pickles, for from four to six hours. 
The fruit shrinks to about one-half its bulk after 
cooking in the brine. 

Prunes: 

Soak the prunes for five minutes, wash them 
well, then soak them for six hours in enough 
water to cover them. Remove the pits, crack 
them, and chop the kernels. Cook the prunes 
and kernels in spiced syrup as directed above 
for ten hours or over night. Weigh the fruit 



176 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

after it has been soaked in order to estimate the 
amount of syrup needed. 

Plums: 

Wipe the fruit, prick it and put it into the 
syrup, bring it slowly to a boil and cook it as 
directed above, for from one to two hours. If 
each plum is pricked once with a sharp-pointed 
fork or nut-pick it will not burst. 
Quinces: 

Wash the fruit and wipe it. Peel, quarter, 
and core it and bring it to a boil in enough water 
to half cover it; cook it in a cooker for ten hours 
or over night or steam it in a wire rack over boiling 
water for ten minutes and place it in a cooker 
for three hours; put it over the fire and bring it 
again to a hard boil and replace it in the cooker 
for another three hours. The quinces, unless 
very hard, will then be ready to cook in the syrup 
as directed above, for ten hours or over night. If 
they are first cooked in water instead of by steam- 
ing, the water may be used for making a syrup 
to use as a pudding sauce or for other purposes. 

Orange Marmalade 

1 large grape-fruit i large lemon 

2 large oranges Sugar 

Water 

Wash the fruit with a brush, wipe it dry and 
cut it, in very thin slices, removing only the seeds. 



FRUITS 177 

Discard the first and last slices, which consist 
of nothing but skin. Measure the sUced fruit, 
and to every quart of fruit add three cups of 
water. Bring it to a boil and put it into a cooker 
for ten hours or over night. Bring it again to a 
boil and cook it again for ten hours. Add the 
equivalent measure of both fruit and water 
in sugar, bring it to a boil, and put it again into 
the cooker for ten hours or more. If it is not 
sufficiently thick in consistency, boil it slowly 
until a drop will jelly slightly if put on a cold 
plate and left a few minutes. As marmalade is 
not usually sealed with air-tight covers it will 
evaporate somewhat, and become thicker by 
long standing, and will therefore not need to be 
boiled until very stiff. The longer it is boiled the 
less deHcate the flavour becomes. This recipe 
should make five pints or more of marmalade. 

Candied Orange or Grape-Fruit Peel 
Peel of 6 oranges or 2 grape- 3 cups sugar 

fruit I i cups water in which peel was 

cooked 

Carefully scrub the fruit till very clean, remove 
the peel in quarters and soak it in water for a 
few hours. If it is to be used as candy, scrape 
away a little of the white part, and cut it into very 
narrow strips. If to be used for cooking pur- 
poses, it need not be scraped or cut small. Put 



178 THE FIRELESS C([)OK BOOK 

it into a cooker-pail and ccWer it with boiling 
water. Let it boil and set it in a cooker for ten 
hours or more. Reheat it to boiling point and 
cook it again for ten hours or more. This will 
be enough for grape-fruit, but orange-peel may 
require one more such period of cooking. When 
soft and nearly transparent, drain the peel, saving 
one and one-half cups of the water. Add to 
it three cups of sugar, and, when this is dissolved, 
the peel. Boil it, slowly toward the last, until 
most of the water has boiled away. Remove the 
strips and lay them in a bed of granulated sugar, 
covering them also with sugar. Let them stand 
until cold, then shake off the loose sugar, which 
can be used for cooking purposes, and put the 
candied peel into covered boxes or cans. 

Canned Quinces 

6 qts. quinces (prepared) 6 qts. water 

4^ lbs. sugar 

Wash, peel, quarter, and core the quinces before 
measuring them. Bring them to the boiling point 
with the w^ter in a cooker-pail. When they are 
boiling hard put them into a cooker for ten hours 
or more. If they are not then very soft to the 
centre of the pieces, bring them again to a boil and 
cook them for from six to ten or more hours, 
according to their condition. When perfectly 
tender add the sugar and bring all again to the 



FRUITS 179 

boiling point. Set them in a cooker for four 
hours or more. Bring them to a boil and put 
them at once into clean, sterilized cans. When 
overflowing full, seal the cans at once. 
This recipe makes about eleven quarts. 

Preserved Quinces 

8 lbs. prepared quinces 8 lbs. sugar 

2 qts. water 

Wash, peel, quarter, and core the quinces 
before measuring them. Put them into a cooker- 
pail, add the v^ater, and when they are boiling 
hard, put them into a cooker for ten hours or 
more. If not perfectly tender, heat them again 
to the boiling point and set them in the cooker 
for as many more hours as they require, depend- 
ing upon their ripeness. Thoroughly ripe 
quinces will probably not require this second 
period of cooking. Add the sugar, bring them 
to a boil, and set them in the cooker for four 
hours or more. If they are not rich enough, boil 
them slowly, uncovered, until they are of the 
desired consistency. Long, slow boiling is 
what gives quinces the red colour so much 
admired. 

Citron and Ginger Preserves 

6 lbs. fruit (prepared) j lb. green ginger 

4 lemons i| qts. water 

6 lbs. sugar 



i8o THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

Pare the citron and cut it into thick slices. 
Remove the seeds, cut the sHces across into cubes, 
strips, or fancy shapes, and weigh them. Wash 
the lemons, slice them and remove the seeds. 
Wash and peel the ginger. Put the citron, 
lemon, ginger, and water into a cooker-pail. 
Bring them to a boil and put them into a cooker 
for eight hours or more, depending upon the 
hardness of the citron. When this is soft and 
nearly transparent, add the sugar, boil it, and 
cook again for four hours or more. Remove the 
fruit, put it into cans or jars, and boil down the 
syrup until it will just cover the fruit. Pour it at 
once over the fruit and close the cans when cooled. 
Cover them with a clean towel while cooling. 

Watermelon rind may be preserved in the 
same manner. 

Grape Jam 

Remove the grapes from the stems, wash them 
in a colander, then press the pulp from the 
skins. Boil the pulp for a few^ minutes, until it 
will easily separate from the seeds. Rub it 
through a sieve, add the skins, and weigh or 
measure the mixture. Add an equal quantity 
of sugar, heat it over a moderate fire until it is 
simmering, stirring it frequently. Do not let 
it boil hard or the skins will be toughened. 
Set it in a cooker for three hours or more. Put 



FRUITS i8i 

it into sterilized glasses or jars, cover it with a 
towel until it is cold, and seal it as directed for 
apple jelly on page 169. 

Grape Juice 

Remove ripe Concord grapes from the stems, 
wash them in a colander, bring them just to 
the boiling point over a moderate fire, stirring 
them frequently. Put them into a cooker for 
five hours or more. Drain them in a jelly bag 
for at least eight hours. Each quart of loose 
grapes should yield about one pint of juice. 
Add one cup of sugar to every quart of juice; 
bring it just to the boiling point and pour it at 
once into sterilized bottles, not filling the bottles 
quite full Cork them at once. When cold, 
press the corks down more firmly, cut them off 
level with the top of the bottle, and dip the inverted 
bottles into Wax for Sealing for an instant. If 
bubbles appear in the wax around or over the 
cork, break them and dip the bottle again. 
Wax for Sealing Bottles 

Melt together equal parts of beeswax and 
rosin. As soon as it is liquid it should be used 
or drawn back on the stove where it will not 
burn. It will keep indefinitely. 
Preserved Ginger 

Buy fresh, green ginger, of good size and 
quality. Peel or scrape it and cut it into lengths 



1 82 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

for serving. Cook it in a cooker for ten hours 
or more in boiling salted water (one-half cupful 
of salt to one gallon of water). Drain away 
the brine and add fresh boiling water to more 
than cover it. When boiling put it again into 
the cooker for ten hours or more. Change 
the water and cook it again, repeating this pro- 
cess until the ginger is very tender. It may take 
several days. Make a syrup, using two cupfuls 
of sugar to each cupful of water, bring the ginger 
to a boil in this syrup, set it in a cooker for 
five or six hours; remove the ginger, boil the 
syrup down to a rich consistency, and pour it 
over the ginger. 



XX 

MISCELLANEOUS RECIPES 

White Sauce 

2 tablespoons butter i cup milk 

2 tablespoons flour I teaspoon salt 

Few grains of white pepper 

Melt the butter over moderate heat, add the 
flour, and blend the two thoroughly. Heat the 
milk over hot water, add it, one-third at a time, 
to the butter and flour, stirring constantly and 
allowing the mixture to become perfectly smooth 
and glossy before adding more milk. Season it 
and allow it to come to the boiUng point. If it is 
not to be served immediately, cover it and slip 
it into the cooker to keep hot. 

Sauce for Vegetables 

2 tablespoons butter i cup milk 

2 tablespoons flour i teaspoon salt 

I cup of vegetable stock Few grains of white pepper 

Make the sauce in the same manner as 
white sauce, blending the milk and water in 
which the vegetables were cooked, which is 
called vegetable stock. 

183 



1 84 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

Brown Sauce 

2 tablespoons butter or clari- i cup brown stock 

fied fat I teaspoon salt 

3 tablespoons flour yV teaspoon pepper 

Brown the butter slightly, add the flour and 
stir constantly until the flour is a rich brown. 
Add the seasoning and stock, one-third at a time, 
stirring it until smooth. If butter is not used, 
add the flour as soon as the fat is melted, as 
other fats will acquire a strong flavour if allowed 
to brown before the flour is added. Mutton or 
lamb fat, or that from smoked or salted meats, 
is not suitable for brown sauce. 

Drawn Butter Sauce 

J cup butter i cup boiling water 

2 tablespoons flour | teaspoon salt 

Y^-g teaspoon white pepper 

Melt the butter, add the flour and season- 
ing, and mix them well. Add the water, one- 
third at a time, stirring until the sauce grows 
smooth. When it has come to the boiling 
point it is done. 

Caper Sauce 

Drain one-half cup of capers, and add them 
to one cupful of drawn-butter sauce. 

Egg Sauce 
To one cupful of drawn-butter sauce add two 
hard-cooked eggs, cut in one-fourth-inch dice. 



MISCELLANEOUS RECIPES 185 

Sauce for Fish 
To one cupful of drawn-butter sauce add one- 
half tablespoonful of lemon juice and one-half 
tablespoonful of chopped parsley. 

HoUandaise Sauce 

I cup butter i teaspoon salt 

Yolks of two eggs Cayenne pepper 

1 tablespoon lemon juice | cup boiling water 
Rub the butter until soft and creamy, add 

the egg yolks, lemon juice, and seasoning, and 
rub them till blended, then pour on the boiling 
water and stand the covered bowl, containing 
the sauce, on a rack over a cooker pail of boil- 
ing water and put it into a cooker for three min- 
utes; or cook it on the stove over hot water as 
soft custard, stirring it constantly. 

Tomato Sauce 

^ can tomatoes, or i teaspoon salt 

2 cups raw tomatoes | teaspoon pepper 

I slice onion 3 tablespoons butter 

h bay leaf 3 tablespoons flour 

^ cup water or stock 
Cook all the ingredients but the butter and 
flour in a cooker for one hour or more. Rub 
them through a strainer and add this, gradually, 
to the blended butter and flour. 

Hard Sauce 

J cup butter i cup powdered sugar 

Nutmeg 



1 86 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

Rub the butter till soft and creamy, add the 
sugar gradually. When perfectly blended, pile 
the sauce on a small dish or plate and put it into 
a refrigerating box or other cold place till time 
for serving, then grate nutmeg over the top. 

Fruit Sauce 

I glass of jelly, or f cup boiling water 

I pint grape juice Sugar to taste 

Cut the jelly into small pieces, add the water, 
and bring the mixture to a boil. Let it stand in 
a cooker for one-half hour or more, or leave it 
on the stove till melted. If very sour jelly is 
used, some sugar may be required to make it 
sweet enough. With grape juice about one-half 
cupful of sugar may be used. The sugar and 
water should be brought to a boil, the grape juice 
added, and the sauce immediately set aside to cool. 

Brandy Sauce 

^ cup butter 2 tablespoons brandy 

I cup sugar ^ cup milk or cream 

Yolks of two eggs Whites of 2 eggs 

Warm the butter to soften, but not melt it; 
add the sugar gradually, and rub the two together; 
add the beaten yolks and, when mixed, the 
brandy and the milk or cream. Heat the sauce 
over warm water in a cooker-pail until it regis- 
ters i6o degrees Fahrenheit, stirring it con- 
stantly. Cover it, and set the pail into a cooker 



MISCELLANEOUS RECIPES 187 

for twenty minutes. When it is nearly ready, 
beat the whites of eggs stiff and pour the hot 
sauce over them, beating it until it is smooth. 
Serve immediately. 

Serves six or eight persons. 

Vanilla Sauce 
2 tablespoons butter i cup boiling water 

I tablespoon flour j cup sugar 

I teaspoon vanilla 

Rub together the butter and flour in a sauce- 
pan, add the water and cook until it thickens. 
Add the sugar, and, when dissolved, the vanilla. 
Serve hot. 

Nutmeg Sauce 

Make it in the same way as vanilla sauce, 
substituting brown sugar for white, and using 
one-eighth teaspoonful of grated nutmeg in 
place of the vanilla. 

Buttered Crumbs 

I tablespoon butter | teaspoon salt 

I cup soft, stale breadcrumbs Few grains pepper 

Use bread that is at least one day old, and 
not sufficiently stale to be hard. Grate the 
bread, or crumble it in the fingers ; or cut it 
into one-inch slices, and these into quarters, 
and rub two quarters together. If any large 
pieces break off, crumble them fine with the 
fingers. If bread is being crumbled for scalloped 



i88 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

dishes, it should be carefully done; if for stuff- 
ing, bread puddings, and such uses where 
it becomes moistened and softened it may be 
cut into very thin slices, then across into strips 
and small dice one-eighth inch in size. Mix 
the seasoning with the crumbs, then add them 
to the melted butter. When first mixed a few 
crumbs absorb all of the butter, but if lightly 
stirred with a fork for several minutes they will 
become evenly buttered. If richer crumbs are 
needed, the quantity of butter may be doubled. 

Salted Nuts 
I pt. water i cup blanched nuts 

J cup salt I teaspoon butter 

Blanch the nuts according to directions given 
below. Boil them in the salt and water for 
eight minutes, drain them and put them into 
a roasting-pan or pie plate with the butter. When 
warm, stir them well that the butter may coat 
each nut. Bake them in a moderate oven until 
they are a very light brown, stirring them fre- 
quently. When they are done, spread them 
out to cool and allow them to stand until crisp 
before putting them into a covered receptacle. 
If peanuts are used, take raw nuts. 

To Blanch Nuts 
Pour boiling water on to shelled nuts, let 
them stand two or three minutes, drain them 



MISCELLANEOUS RECIPES 189 

and pour cold water over them. Press them 
from their skins. 

To Shell Italian Chestnuts 

Cut a sHt in each nut with a sharp knife; put 
them into a frying or roasting pan with one 
teaspoonful of butter for each pint of nuts. Shake 
them over moderate heat until the butter is 
melted, and put them into a moderate oven for 
five minutes; or continue to shake them over the 
fire for that length of time. This loosens the 
shell so that it may be removed with a knife. 
To Sterilize Jars or Cans 

Wash cans, jars or bottles and their covers 
and put them into a large pan of cold or tepid 
water, which is deep enough to fill and cover 
them. 

Bring the water to a boil over moderate heat, 
unless a rack in the pan prevents contact of the 
glassware with the bottom of the pan, in which 
case a hot fire may be used. Let them boil 
for five minutes or more, and remove them, one 
by one, as they are to be filled. A clean stick 
or long wooden spoon-handle thrust into them 
may be used to take them out. Rubbers for 
cans should not be sterilized, as the heat will 
injure them. Corks may be dipped into boil- 
ing water or allowed to remain in it for a 
minute; but unless very stifF and shrunken. 



190 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

they will swell too much to fit the bottles if left 
long in the water. 

Boiled Dressing 

I teaspoon salt i teaspoon sugar 

J teaspoon mustard i egg 

Cayenne ^ cup milk 

2^ teaspoons butter J cup vinegar 

Mix the dry ingredients, add the beaten egg 
and milk; heat them over a cooker-pail of warm 
water until i6o degrees Fahrenheit, stirring it 
constantly. Put it into a cooker for twenty 
minutes. Add the vinegar when it is cold, unless 
it is to be used for cole-slaw, in which case the 
hot vinegar is added at once and the dressing 
poured over the cut cabbage. 

Soft-Cooked Eggs, No. i 
Into a cooker-pail put as many eggs as are 
to be cooked. Pour over them one pint of 
boiling water for one egg and one cup extra 
for each additional egg. Without heating it 
further, put the pail into the cooker for ten 
minutes. Remove them promptly at the end 
of that time and place them in a folded napkin 
to keep warm. 

Soft-Cooked Eggs, No. 2 
Put the eggs and cold water to more than cover 
them into a cooker-pail. Heat them over the 
fire until 165 degrees Fahrenheit, then put them 



MISCELLANEOUS RECIPES 191 

into a cooker for ten minutes. Remove them 
immediately and serve them in a folded napkin. 
Hard-Cooked Eggs 
Put the eggs and enough cold v^ater to more 
than cover them into a cooker-pail. Heat them till 
simmering, then put them into a cooker for tv^enty 
or thirty minutes, depending upon their size. 

Chocolate 

2 squares chocolate i cup hot water 

i cup sugar 3 cups hot milk 

^ teaspoon vanilla 

Melt the chocolate in a pan to fit over a cooker- 
pail of boiling water; add the salt and sugar and, 
when mixed, the water. Remove the pan from 
the pail and let the chocolate cook directly on 
the stove until it has thickened, add the milk, 
gradually, and when scalding hot, but not boiling, 
put the pan back into the cooker-pail of boiling 
water. Set all in a cooker and leave it until it is 
to be served. Just before serving beat it well 
with an egg-beater and add the vanilla. 
It will keep hot without injury for a number of 
hours and makes a good drink for a late evening 
supper. It can be prepared before going out and 
on returning from concert, theatre, or other 
entertainment, will be found ready to serve. A 
tablespoonful or two of cream improves it. 
Serves four or five persons. 



192 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

Cocoa 

ij tablespoons cocoa 2 cups boiling water 

2 tablespoons sugar 2 cups hot milk 

Few grains salt 

Mix the cocoa, sugar and salt. Mix it to a 
paste with boiling water, add to the remain- 
ing water, and let it boil one minute. Add 
the scalding milk and beat it well with an 
egg-beater and serve it; or put it into a cooker 
to keep warm until it is to be used. It will 
keep for several hours and should be beaten 
upon removal. Reception cocoa is generally 
made with double the quantity of cocoa and is 
served with a spoonful of whipped cream laid 
on top. 

Serves four or five persons. For reception 
serves eight persons. 

Cocoa Shells 

i^ cups shells 3 cups milk 

3 cups water Sugar to taste 

Bring the shells and water to a boil, put them 
into a cooker for eight hours or more. Add the 
hot milk, strain the liquid off, pressing the shells 
with a spoon to squeeze it out. Add the sugar 
and heat all until boiling. By adding one-third 
of a cup of cocoa nibs a more satisfactory drink 
is obtained. This recipe makes one quart. 

Serves four or five persons. 



MISCELLANEOUS RECIPES 193 

Coffee 

i cup coffee Cold water 

1 egg I qt. boiling water 

Mix the coffee, egg and washed shell with 
enough water to moisten it, in a cooker-pail or 
pan. Add the boiling water and let it just come 
to a boil. Put the pail or pan into a large pail 
of boilinp- water and set it in a cooker for one hour 
or more. If a larger quantity of coffee is made 
and it will nearly fill the cooker-pail, the outside 
pail of water may be omitted. 

Cereal Coffee 

f cup cereal coffee ij qts. water 

Put the coffee into a cheese-cloth bag and drop 
it into cold water. Bring it to a boil and put it 
into a cooker for five hours or more. It is best 
cooked over night and is a different thing from 
ordinary cereal coffee prepared by boiling. All 
brands of cereal coffee may be treated in this way. 
Serve, if possible, with cream. 
Croustades 

Cut stale bread into slices one and one-half 
or two inches thick. Cut off the crusts, making 
rectangular blocks of the bread, or cutting it with 
a large biscuit cutter, into rounds. With a fork, 
carefully scoop out the centres, leaving cases 
with walls about one-fourth of an inch thick. 
Brush them lightly with melted butter and brown 



194 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

them In a moderate oven. Creamed oysters, 
lobster, fish or meat and some vegetables are 
served in croustades. 

Farina Balls 

J cup farina Dash of cayenne 

2 cups milk 5 drops of lemon juice 

J teaspoon salt Yolk of one egg 

Cook the milk and farina in a cooker for two 
hours or more, over boiling water, until all the 
liquid has been absorbed, then add the other 
ingredients while still over the water, and when 
well mixed remove it and spread it on a dish to 
cool. When cold, roll it into balls one inch in 
diameter, roll them in sifted crumbs, then in egg 
to which one tablespoon of water has been added 
and slightly beaten, and again in crumbs, and fry 
them in hot, deep fat until a golden brown. Drain 
them on soft brown paper laid on a plate in the 
open door of an oven. Any cold cereals may 
be used in this way. 



XXI 
RECIPES FOR THE SICK 

Flaxseed Lemonade 

2 tablespoons whole flax- j cup lemon juice 

seed J cup sugar 

I qt. boiling water A little grated lemon rind 

Pick over and wash the flaxseed in a strainer, 
put it into a cooker-pail and add the boiling water. 
When it boils put it into a cooker for from two 
to two and one-half hours. Strain it and add the 
sugar and lemon. 

Farina Gruel 

1 tablespoon farina i cup milk 

2 cups boiling water i egg 

I tablespoon cold water f teaspoon salt 

Mix the farina and cold water, add them to 
the boiling, salted water and when boiling set 
it in the cooker, over boiling water, for one 
and one-half hours. Then scald the milk in 
a double boiler and add it and the beaten 
egg to the cooked farina. The egg may be 
omitted, in which case only one cup of water 
should be used. 

195 



196 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

Imperial Granum 

I tablespoon Imperial Granum J cup boiling water 
I tablespoon cold water J teaspoon salt 

J cup milk 

Mix the Imperial Granum with the cold water, 
add it to the boiling water. Add the salt and 
milk and cook it in a small cooker-pail or pan 
over the fire until it boils, stirring occasionally. 
Then put it into a pail of water and set it in a 
cooker for one hour or more. If preferred, more 
milk may be added. 

Cracker Gruel 
I tablespoon plain cracker i cup milk 

crumbs j teaspoon salt 

Scald the milk in a small double cooker-pail, 
with boiling water in the under pail. Add the 
cracker, and put it into a cooker for one hour or 
more. Add the salt just before serving. It is 
often convenient to keep such gruels hot for use 
in the night, being improved rather than harmed 
by the long cooking. Care must then be taken 
that they are hot, not merely warm. Milk is 
considered scalding hot when a thick skin forms 
on the top and bubbles appear next the pan, or 
when it registers 180 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Oatmeal Gruel 

J cup rolled oats i teaspoon salt 

3 cups boiling water Milk to taste 



RECIPES FOR THE SICK 197 

Put the oatmeal, salt and water into a cooker- 
pan, boil it five minutes and set it in a cooker 
for eight or ten hours over a cooker-pail of boiling 
water. Rub it through a strainer, dilute it 
with hot milk and pour it again through a strainer. 

Barley Flour Gruel 

1 cup water 3 tablespoons cold water 
3 tablespoons barley flour J cup milk 

J teaspoon salt 

Mix the barley and cold water to a paste, add 
the boiling water and salt, bring it to a boil and 
cook it over boiling water for one hour or more 
in a cooker. Strain it, dilute it with the milk and 
heat it over hot water. 

Indian Gruel 

2 tablespoons meal 2 tablespoons cold water 
I tablespoon flour 3 cups boiling water 

J teaspoon salt Milk or cream 

Mix the flour and meal, add the cold water and 
add this mixture to the boiling, salted water. 
Boil it and let it cook over boiling water in a 
cooker for ten hours; strain it, add the milk or 
cream, heat it over hot water and serve it. Or 
less water may be used for the long cooking and 
more milk or cream be added before serving. 

Arrowroot Gruel 

1 cup boiling water i tablespoon cold water 

2 teaspoons Bermuda arrow- J teaspoon salt 

root 



198 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

Mix the arrowroot and cold water, add them 
to the boiling, salted water, let the mixture boil 
and cook it over boiling water in a cooker for one 
hour or more. 

Pasteurized Milk 

There is a certain degree of heat which, if 
maintained for a sufficient period of time, will 
destroy disease germs and certain other harmful 
germs which tend to spoil milk, while at the 
same time it is not high enough to cause the deli- 
cate flavour of raw milk to disappear. Bringing 
milk to this exact condition is called *' pasteurizing" 
it. Into feeding bottles put the amount of milk 
that is to be used at one time. Plug them with 
sterilized (baked) cotton. Stand them on a 
rack in a cooker-pail, surrounded, to the depth of 
the milk, with warm water. Gradually raise 
the temperature till the milk in the bottles registers 
150 degrees Fahrenheit. Cover the pail, and 
set it in a cooker for from twenty minutes to 
half an hour or more. Remove the bottles, cool 
quickly and keep the milk in a cold place, but not 
freezing, till needed. Do not remove the milk 
from the bottles if it is used for feeding infants. 
If used for adults do not remove it until it is to 
be used. Pasteurized milk will keep for a long 
time without souring, but is dangerous unless 
continuously kept very cold. Milk to be kept 



RECIPES FOR THE SICK 199 

hot in a cooker for use in the night, should be put 
in while scalding hot, not merely pasteurized, 
since "any device for keeping milk [merely] 
warm should never be used." * 

Rice and Milk 

J cup rice ij cups milk 

J teaspoon salt 

Bring the ingredients to a boil in a cooker- 
pan, set it over boiling water and put it into a 
cooker for one hour or more. 

Peptonized Beef Broth 

J lb. lean beef i cup water 

^ tube Fairchild's peptogenic powder 

Remove all fat from the meat, chop it fine and 
heat it with the water until it boils, stirring it 
constantly. Drain off the liquid and grind the 
meat to a paste with a mortar and pestle. Put 
it, with the liquid and Fairchild's powder, or its 
equivalent, into a sterilized glass can, close it 
and shake all together vigorously till it is well 
mixed. Stand the jar with the cover laid on it, 
but not fastened securely, on a low rack in a 
cooker-pail of warm water. Place it over moder- 
ate heat until the water is 115 degrees Fahrenheit. 
Cover it and put it into a cooker for three hours. 
Warm the cooker-nest, previously, with a pail of 

♦"Bacteria in Milk," by L. A. Rogers. Yearbook of the Department of 
Agriculture, 1907, p. 194. 



200 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

boiling water set into it for half an hour. Take 
out the broth, put it into a saucepan and quickly 
bring it to a boil. If it is for a very sick patient 
it should be strained. Keep it cold unless it is 
used immediately. Add one-fourth teaspoonful 
of salt before serving it. 

Peptonized Milk 

i pt. fresh milk | cup water 

^ tube Fairchild's peptogenic powder 

Put the powder with the water, which has been 
boiled and cooled, into a sterilized pint glass can, 
and shake them until the powder is dissolved. 
Add the milk and shake it slightly again. Put 
the can into a cooker-pail of warm water and heat 
it over a moderate fire until the water is 115 
degrees Fahrenheit, Set it into a previously 
warmed cooker for from ten to thirty minutes. 
If it remains too long it will develop an unpleasant 
flavour. When done, remove it to a saucepan 
and bring it quickly to a boil. Keep it in a cold 
place if it is not used immediately. 

Apple "Water 

I large sour apple 2 teaspoons sugar 

I cup boiling water 

Wash the apple thoroughly; cut it into pieces, 
removing the core but not the skin. Bring it 
to a boil in the water; cook it over boiling 
water in a cooker for two hours or more. Strain 



RECIPES FOR THE SICK 201 

it through a wire strainer and add the sugar. 
Serve it cold. 

Barley Water 

3 tablespoons barley Salt 

2 cups cold water Lemon juice 

Sugar 

Pick over the barley and soak it over night 
or for several hours. Bring it to a boil and put 
it into a cooker for eight hours. Strain it, add 
salt, sugar and lemon juice to taste. Serve it hot. 



XXII 

RECIPES FOR COOKING IN LARGE 
QUANTITIES 

FIRELESS cookers are specially adapted to 
use on a large scale, as it is in cases where 
cooking is done on a business basis that economy 
in fuel, range space, and labour form such an 
important factor, and because there some intelli- 
gent person will generally oversee the work of 
the ignorant and careless. In their present 
form they are not, perhaps, adapted to very 
large institutions, where many hundreds of 
persons are fed, since there is a limit to the 
size of utensils which can be lifted in and 
out of the insulating box. But for small 
institutions, hotels, boarding-houses, restaurants, 
and lunch rooms the fireless cooker will, inevit- 
ably, become indispensable as soon as it is 
understood. 

The United States Army has used the fireless 
cooker and, owing partly to its demand, some 
of the manufacturers of commercial cookers make 
them in sizes appropriate for use on a large 

203 



COOKING LARGE QUANTITIES 203 

scale. For those who wish to try them without 
an initial outlay of much money the home-made 
cooker will be found in every way satisfactory. 
As an encouragement to those who wish to use 
them for such purposes, it may be said that 
there is less chance of failure in cooking large 
quantities of food than with small. 

In the main, the directions for making and 
using cookers are the same no matter what the 
size, but a few points may be suggested as more 
necessary for large than small cookers. 

In many kitchens there will be no space near 
the range for a cooker or a number of cookers, 
and it will be a matter of necessity to have one 
which can easily be moved. Instead of ordinary 
castors, use, for these, such small iron wheels 
as are put on hand trucks. They will be found 
to run more easily and to injure a floor much 
less. Select a box which will fit under a table, 
when loaded, and then it will not seem to make 
the kitchen any fuller than before. Fit it with 
two strong handles, preferably on the front of the 
box, so that it may be guided when pulled out 
from under the table. 

The portable insulating pail may be found 
useful for transporting hot food from a cen- 
tral kitchen to outlying dining-rooms, as is so 
often done in large institutions, aluminum utensils 



204 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

and the lightest packing material that is prac- 
ticable being advisable for these. 

The temperature maintained by a large mass 
of food in a well-made box, will result in more 
rapid cooking than with small quantities, and 
this must be taken into account with foods, 
such as potatoes, which are easily overcooked. 

There is always a difficulty in stating the 
number of persons that may be served by any 
recipe, since the amount served to each varies 
to such an extent with circumstances. The 
number indicated in this book is a mean 
between the small table d'hote and the large 
a la carte portions, and is based upon the 
amount served at an ordinary family table. 
Three-quarters of a cupful is allowed for each 
portion of soup. 

Rolled Oats 

7J qts. water 4 tablespoons salt 

3 qts. rolled oats 

Boil the water, add the salt and sprinkle in the 
oats gradually. When boiling put it into a cooker 
for two hours or more. It is improved by 
twelve hours' cooking. 

Serves forty or fifty persons. 

Cornmeal Mush 
8 qts. water 2^ tablespoons salt 

7 cups cornmeal 



COOKING LARGE QUANTITIES 205 

Mix the meal with one quart of the water, 
bring the remainder to a boil, add the salt 
and stir in the meal paste. Let it boil four 
minutes and put it into the cooker for five hours 
or more. 

Serves thirty-five or forty persons. 

Hominy Grits 
7iqts. water 3 tablespoons salt 

i§ qts. hominy grits 

Add the hominy to the boiling, salted water; 
let it boil for ten minutes and put it into the 
cooker for eight hours or more. 

Serves forty or fifty persons. 

Samp 

1 qt. samp 3 tablespoons salt 

2 qts. cold water 6 qts. boiling water 

Soak the samp in the cold water for eight hours 
or more. Add it to the boiling water and salt, 
let it boil uncovered for one hour and put it 
into a cooker for six hours or more. A little 
butter added before serving improves it, if it is 
used as a vegetable. 

Serves forty or fifty persons. 

Cracked Wheat 
5 cups wheat 2^ tablespoons salt 

2i qts. cold water 5 q^s. boiling water 

Soak the cracked wheat in the cold water for 
nine hours or more. Add it to the boiling water 



2o6 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

and salt, let it boil for ten minutes and put it 
into a cooker for at least nine hours; reheat 
it to the boiling point and cook it again for 
nine hours or more. 

Serves forty or fifty persons. 

Steel-cut Oatmeal 

5 cups oats 2^ tablespoons salt 

2^ qts. cold water 5 qts. boiling water 

Cook it in the same manner as cracked wheat. 
Serves forty or fifty persons. 

Pettijohn's Breakfast Food 

7^ qts. water 4 tablespoons salt 

3 qts. Pettijohn's Breakfast food 

Cook it as directed on page 56. 
Serves forty or fifty persons. 

Cream of W^heat 
S^ qts. water 3 tablespoons salt 

5 cups cream of wheat 

Cook it as directed on page 56. 
Serves forty or fifty persons. 

Wheatlet 
Cook it in the same way as cream of wheat. 

Farina 
Cook it in the same way as cream of wheat. 

Rice 

5 to 7 qts. water i cup salt 

i^ qts. rice 



COOKING LARGE QUANTITIES 207 

Wash the rice, add it to the boihng salted 
water; let it boil and put it into a cooker for 
one hour. 

Serves forty or fifty persons. 

Brown Stock 

10 lbs. meat and bone i tablespoon sweet marjoram 

10 qts. water 3 tablespoons chopped parsley 

I J teaspoons peppercorns 2 cups carrot 

I teaspoon cloves 2 cups turnip 

3 bay leaves 2 cups celery 

I tablespoon chopped thyme i cup onion 
I cup salt 

Make it as directed on page 6o. 
Serves forty-five or fifty persons. 

White Stock 

10 lbs. knuckle of veal 2 teaspoons peppercorns 

lo qts. water ^ cup onion 

I cup salt 2 cups celery, or 

I tablespoon celery seed 

Make it as directed on page 62. 
Serves forty-five or fifty persons. 

Mutton Broth 

15 lbs neck of mutton i teaspoon pepper 

10 qts. cold water i cup rice, or 

I cup salt I cup barley 

Make it as directed on page 63. 
Serves forty-five or fifty persons. 



2o8 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

Mock Turtle Soup 

5 lambs' livers i teaspoon cloves 



5 calves' hearts 


i| tablespoons peppercorns 


5 knuckles of veal 


J cup salt 


lo qts. water 


5 bay leaves 


2 cups onions 


I J doz. yolks of hard-cooked 


2 cups turnip 


eggs 


2 cups celery 


2^ lemons 



Madeira v^^ine 

Make it as directed on page 66. 
Serves forty-five or fifty persons. 

Creole Soup 

6 qts. brown stock 2 cups flour 

3 qts. tomatoes i^ tablespoons salt 

I cup chopped green sweet J teaspoon cayenne 

pepper f cup grated horseradish 

f cup chopped onion 2 tablespoons vinegar 

i§ cups butter i^ cups macaroni rings 

Make it as directed on page 69. 
Serves forty or forty-five persons. 



Cream of Celery Soup 
3 qts. white stock I cup flour 

4^ qts. celery, cut small 
i^ qts. water 
i^ cups sHced onion 
f cup butter 

Make it as directed on page 68. 
Serves forty-five or fifty persons. 



3 qts. hot milk 
I J qts. hot cream 
2 tablespoons salt 
f teaspoon pepper 



COOKING LARGE QUANTITIES 209 

Asparagus Soup 

5 qts. white stock, or if cups butter 

5 qts. water in which aspara- if cups flour 

gus has cooked 3^ qts. hot milk 

7 cans asparagus, or i tablespoon salt 

7 pts. of cooked asparagus f teaspoon white pepper 

I large onion 

Make it as directed on page 68. 
Serves forty-five or fifty persons. 

Macaroni Soup 

10 qts. brown stock 2^ cups macaroni rings 

Make it as directed on page 70. 
Serves forty-five or fifty persons. 

Vegetable Soup with Stock 

10 qts. brown stock 2^ cups cabbage 

2 J cups turnip i| cups onion 

2^ cups carrot i tablespoon salt 

2^ cups celery f cup rice or barley 

Make it as directed on page 67. 
Serves forty-five or fifty persons. 

Ox Tail Soup 
6 ox tails i^ cups Madeira wine 

9 qts. brown stock 2 tablespoons Worcestershire 

2 teaspoons salt sauce 

J teaspoon cayenne 2 tablespoons lemon juice 

J cup butter Flour 

Make it as directed on page 70. 
Serves forty or forty-five persons. 



210 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

Julienne Soup 

10 qts. brown stock i| cups peas 

2 J cups carrot ij cups string beans 

2j cups turnip i teaspoon salt 

Make it as directed on page 70. 
Serves forty-five or fifty persons. 

Tomato Soup with Stock 
5 qts. brown stock i| cups butter 

5 cans or 5 qts. tomatoes i§ cups flour 

I cup chopped onion 2^ tablespoons salt 

Make it as directed on page 69. 
Serves forty-five to fifty persons. 

Vegetable Soup without Stock 

2 cups carrots 3 qts. tomatoes 

2 cups turnips I cup butter 

3 cups celery J cup chopped parsley 
3 cups onion j cup salt 

2 qts. potatoes I J teaspoons pepper 
6 qts. water 

Make it as directed on page 71. 
Serves forty-five or fifty persons. 

Bean Soup 

5 pts. beans i cup chopped celery 

10 qts. water or stock § cup Chili sauce 

I cup chopped onion f cup butter 

2J lbs. lean, raw beef, if f cup flour 
stock is not used | cup salt 

ij teaspoons pepper 

Make it as directed on page 72. 
Serves fifty or fifty-five persons. 



COOKING LARGE QUANTITIES 211 

Black Bean Soup 

2^ qts. black beans f teaspoon pepper 

10 qts. water i| teaspoons mustard 

I cup chopped onion | teaspoon cayenne 

1 cup chopped celery, or i cup butter 
I J teaspoons celery salt ^ cup flour 

^ cup salt 10 hard-cooked eggs 

5 lemons 

Make it as directed on page 72. 
Serves fifty or fifty-five persons. 

Tomato Soup 

7 cans or quarts of tomatoes 2 large onions 

3^ qts. water J cup salt 

1 tablespoon peppercorns I teaspoon soda 
4 large bay leaves J cup sugar 

2 teaspoons cloves f cup butter 

l^ cups flour 

Make it as directed on page 73. 
Serves forty-five or fifty persons. 

Potato Soup 

24 medium-sized potatoes i cup flour 

4 qts. milk | cup salt 

4 qts. water 2 teaspoons celery salt 

f cup chopped onion i teaspoon pepper 

2 cups butter ^ teaspoon cayenne 

|- cup chopped parsley 

Make it at directed on page 75. 
Serves forty-five or fifty persons. 



212 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

Puree of Lima Beans 
5 cups dried lima beans 5 cups cream or milk 

7i qts. water li cups butter 

J cup chopped onion § cup flour 

f cup chopped turnip i cup salt 

1 1 teaspoons pepper 
Make it as directed on page 73. 
Serves forty-five or fifty persons. 

Baked Bean Soup 

3 qts. cold, baked beans J cup butter 

6 qts. water i cup flour 

i cup chopped onion i cup Chili sauce 

I cup chopped celery 4 teaspoons salt 

l^ qts. tomatoes 4 teaspoon peppei 

Make it as directed on page 74. 
Serves forty-five or fifty persons. 

Green Pea Soup 

8 cans marrowfat peas, or J cup chopped onion 

4 qts. shelled peas i cup butter 

5 tablespoons sugar i cup flour 

4 qts. water 3 tablespoons salt 

4 qts. milk ij teaspoons pepper 

Make it as directed on page 74. 
Serves forty-five or fifty persons. 

Split-Pea Soup 

2 qts. split peas 8 qts. water 

8 lbs. soup bones, beef j cup salt 

I teaspoon pepper 

Make it as directed on page 77. 
Serves fifty persons. 



COOKING LARGE QUANTITIES 213 

Fish Chowder 
12 lbs. cod or other firm, 3 qts. scalded milk 
white fish I lb. fat salt pork 

3 qts. potatoes, in f-inch dice 3 tablespoons salt 
f cup sliced onion i teaspoon white pepper 

i cup butter 2 cups oyster crackers 

Make it as directed on page 75. 
Serves forty-five or fifty persons. 

Connecticut Chowder 

Make this as directed for fish chowder, sub- 
stituting two quarts of stewed fresh or canned 
tomatoes for the milk, which may be added to 
the chowder before putting it into the cooker. 

Serves forty-five or fifty persons. 

Creamed Salt Codfish 

6 lbs. codfish 2 doz. eggs 

12 qts. water 3 cups milk 

li cups butter f teaspoon pepper 

Cook it as directed for Creamed Salt Codfish, 
No. 2 on page 84. 

Serves forty or fifty persons. 

Codfish Balls 

2 qts. raw, salt codfish. About 12 qts. cold water 

in small pieces 8 eggs 

4 qts. potatoes, in l-inch I cup butter 

pieces I teaspoon pepper 

Cook it as directed on page 85. 
Serves forty or fifty persons. 



214 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

Pot Roast 

12 lbs. beef from round or ^ teaspoon pepper 
rump ■ I cup carrot 

ij oz. beef drippings i cup turnip 

(3 tablespoons) i cup onion 

Flour I cup celery 

I tablespoon salt 4 bay leaves 

3 qts. water 

Have the butcher bone and roll the meat, 
if it is from the rump. Wipe it with a damp 
cloth, dredge it with flour and brown it on all 
sides in the drippings. Wash, pare, and cut the 
vegetables into pieces. Put all the ingredients 
with the hot, browned meat, into a cooker-pail, 
add the water, boiling hot, let it boil for thirty 
minutes and put it into a cooker for nine hours 
or more. Before serving bring the meat to a 
boil, remove it, put it in a warm place, and 
make three quarts of brown sauce. Strain the 
liquor in the pail and use it for the sauce. If 
there is fat on the top of the liquor remove it 
and use it in making the sauce. 

Serves fifty persons. 

Brown Sauce 

^ cup butter or fat 2 teaspoons salt 

J cup flour J teaspoon pepper 

I qt. stock or water 

Make it as directed on page 184. 
Serves sixteen or twenty persons. 



COOKING LARGE QUANTITIES 215 

Beef a la Mode 

12 lbs. round of beef i cup sliced onion 

I lb. fat salt pork J teaspoon allspice 

Flour i teaspoon grated nutmeg 

3 tablespoons salt J teaspoon whole cloves 

I teaspoon pepper J cup rendered beef fat 

About 3 qts. water 

Cook it as directed on page 95, except that there 
need not be an outer pail of boiUng water. 
Serves fifty persons. 

Irish Stew 

5 lbs clear meat 2^ cups celery, in pieces 

2 J qts. potatoes, in dice 3 tablespoons salt 

2 J cups turnips, in dice i teaspoon pepper 

2^ cups carrots, sliced 2J cups flour 

I J cups onions, sliced i cup clear fat 

4J qts. water 

Cook it as directed on page 100. 
Serves forty or fifty persons. 

Beef Stew a la Mode 

10 lbs. beef brisket i teaspoon pepper 

Flour I teaspoon ground allspice 

I cup rendered fat i teaspoon grated nutmeg 

I J cups sliced onion i teaspoon whole cloves 

I cup salt I lemon, sliced 

Water to cover 

Buy tw^enty-five or thirty pounds of brisket 
to get ten pounds of clear, lean meat. Cook it 
as directed on page 97. 

Serves forty or fifty persons. 



2i6 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

Boiled Dinner 

8 lbs. lean, salt pork 5 heads cabbage 

I pk. turnips 1} pks. potatoes 

J pk. beets 2 teaspoons pepper 

t qt. carrots Water to cover 

Cook it as directed on page 96. 
Serves forty or fifty persons. 

Cannelon of Beef 
6 lbs. lean meat, chopped | cup clear fat or butter 

Grated rind ij lemons f teaspoon nutmeg 

J cup chopped parsley 3 tablespoons salt 

1 doz. eggs f teaspoon pepper 

2 tablespoons grated onion ij qts. soft breadcrumbs 

Cook it as directed on page 10 1. 
Serves forty or fifty persons. 

Okra Stew 

6 lbs. clear, lean mutton 3 qts. tomatoes 

f cup clear beef fat 3 qts. okra, in pieces 

l^ cups flour 3 tablespoons salt 

2 cups sHced onion i teaspoon pepper 

3 qts. water 

Cook it as directed on page iii. 
Serves forty or fifty persons. 

Creamy Potatoes 
I pk. potatoes J cup salt 

4 qts. milk i tablespoon pepper 

ij cups butter 

One peck of potatoes will maKe about ten 
quarts when prepared for creamy potatoes. 



COOKING LARGE QUANTITIES 217 

Melt the butter in the cooker-pail, add the milk, 
and, while it is heating, slice the potatoes which 
have been pared and soaked, for two hours or 
more, in cold water. As each quart of potatoes 
is sliced put it into the hot milk. The potatoes 
will thus be heated to boiling point, quart by 
quart. Add the seasoning. When boiling, after 
the last quart of potatoes has been added, put all 
into the cooker for one hour or more. 
Serves forty or fifty persons. 

Veal Loaf 

5 lbs. minced veal 2^ tablespoons salt 

10 eggs f cup chopped parsley 

ij cups melted butter f cup chopped onion 

5 cups soft breadcrumbs | lb. fat salt pork 

f teaspoon pepper 2J teaspoons ground sage 

Cook it as directed on page 117. 
Serves forty or fifty persons. 

Macaroni Italienne 

2 qts. macaroni, in one-inch 32 cloves 

pieces 4 large bay leaves 

4 qts. stewed and strained 3 tablespoons salt 

tomatoes 1 cup sugar 

2 qts. stock or water i teaspoon pepper 

8 medium-sized onions 2 qts. grated or shaved cheese 

Cook it as directed on page 143. 
Serves forty or fifty persons,^ 



2i8 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

Turkish Pilaf 

I qt. rice 2^ tablespoons salt 

8 green sweet peppers (2 cups) 2 tablespoons sugar 

3 qts. tomatoes ij qts. water 

I cup butter 

Cook it as directed on page 149, without the 
lower pail of water. 

Serves forty-five or fifty persons. 

Pork and Beans 

2 qts. dried beans 2 lbs. salt pork 
I tablespoon soda i cup molasses 

9 qts. water i tablespoon mustard 

3 tablespoons salt | teaspoon pepper 

Water to half cover 

Soak the beans, drain them, cook them for 
seven hours or more, as directed on page 141, 
with the nine quarts of water, soda, and salt. 
Drain them, add the other ingredients, and 
bake them till browned. 

Serves forty-five or fifty persons. 

Boston Brown Bread 

2 qts. rye meal J cup soda 

2 qts. granulated cornmeal J cup salt 

2 qts. graham flour i^ qts. molasses 

4 qts. thick, sour milk, or 3I qts. buttermilk 

Mix and cook it as directed on page 155. Put 
it into seven or eight moulds. 
Serves fifty persons. 



COOKING LARGE QUANTITIES 219 

Suet Pudding 

3 cups chopped suet li tablespoons salt 

3 cups molasses i^ teaspoons ginger 

3 cups thick, sour milk i^ teaspoons nutmeg 

2i qts. flour f teaspoon cloves 

i^ tablespoons soda i tablespoon cinnamon 

Mix and cook it as directed on page 157. Put 
the pudding into six moulds. Serve it with a 
liquid sauce. 

Serves forty or fifty persons. 

Rice Pudding 
6 qts. milk li cups rice 

3 cups sugar I teaspoon salt 

1 teaspoon nutmeg J cup butter 
Cook it as directed on page 162, except that the 

outer pail of water may be omitted. If served 
cold and not browned, omit the butter. 
Serves thirty or thirty-five persons. 

Indian Pudding 

2 qts. water 2 tablespoons salt 
4J qts. milk (scalding hot) I cup ginger 

I qt. cornmeal i^ qts. molasses 

Mix the dry ingredients with one pint of the 
water, add them to the boiling water and molasses, 
add the milk. Let all come to a boil and put it 
into a cooker for ten hours or more. Put it into 
baking dishes and brown it, or serve it without 
browning, either plain or with cream. 
Serves forty or fifty persons. 



220 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

Chocolate Bread Pudding 
6 qts. milk, 2 cups sugar 

3 qts. soft breadcrumbs 1 8 eggs 

I tablespoon salt f lb. chocolate 

2 tablespoons vanilla 

Cook it as directed on page 164, in three pud- 
ding pans, set over cooker-pails of water. 
Serves forty or fifty persons. 

Stewed Apples 
15 qts. prepared apples f teaspoon whole cloves 

7 lbs. sugar 2 lemons 

I J qts. water 

Cook them as directed on page 168. 
Serves thirty-five to forty-five persons. 

Apple Sauce 

I pk. sour apples li qts. water 

3 lbs. sugar 

Cook it as directed on page 168. 
Serves forty-five to fifty persons. 



XXIII 
THE INSULATED OVEN 

MANY women in these days will find it 
difficult to believe that it is possible 
to bake without the constant presence of fire, 
but our great-grandmothers were well aware 
that foods continued to cook in the brick ovens 




Insulated oven with stones and pan in place. 

long after the fire in them had burned out or 
was raked out. The insulated oven represents 
an adaptation of old-fashioned ideas to new 
and modern conditions. Although we cannot 
go back to the days of brick ovens, superior as 



222 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

they were, in certain respects, to the portable 
range with its quickly fluctuating heat and great 
waste from radiation, yet the insulated oven will 
not be found impossible or very difficult to set 
up, and the adventurous woman will, perhaps, 
not be content until she has tried this develop- 
ment of the fireless cooker. 

The advantages of an insulated oven lie in the 
even brown and thorough baking which it gives; 
the development and retention of flavours, which 
is greater than with ordinary baking; the economy 
in fuel where food requires long cooking; the 
absence of heat in the kitchen; and the possibility 
of baking where only a camp-fire is obtainable. 

The principle is the same whether a portable 
oven is insulated or a cooker-pail is utilized. 
There must be hot stone slabs, iron plates, fire- 
brick, or some such heat-radiators, which can be 
made very hot and which will retain their heat 
well. Stones or fire-brick are preferable to 
iron in this respect. There must be insulation 
for the oven or utensil, and cooking will then 
proceed, although somewhat diff'erently from 
the familiar method of baking with a fire. 

TO INSULATE AN OVEN 

Choose as small a portable oven as will hold 
the food to be cooked, since the larger the oven 



THE INSULATED OVEN . 223 

the larger or more numerous the stones must be 
to heat it. Very large stones are heavy and 
awkward to manage, and with their number 
the cost of using the oven increases. A portable 
oven is on the market which is about thirteen 
inches in each dimension. This is a good size 
for a family of four or five. Cut six pieces of 
heavy sheet asbestos, fitting one to each surface 
of the oven, except the door, and two to the 
bottom. One of the two pieces for the bottom 
is to go inside the oven. Place the asbestos 
so that it entirely covers the oven. These pieces 
may be tied on temporarily to hold them in 
place during packing. Select a box which is at 
least two or three inches larger in every dimen- 
sion than the corresponding dimension of the 
oven. It should be fitted with cover and hasp 
just as any cooker. Lay it, while packing, with 
the cover opening upward. Pack in the bot- 
tom a sufficient layer of insulating material, 
such as is used for other cookers, to raise the y^ 
oven to within a couple of inches of the top.' 
Place the oven, lying upon its back, on this 
layer with the door uppermost, and opening in 
the same direction as the cover of the box. Pack 
on all sides around it till level with the door. 
If desired, a facing may be made to cover 
the packing material, from a piece of cloth cut 



224 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

a few inches larger, in each direction, than the 
top of the box. Draw on it a square the size of 
the oven. In the centre of this cut a small hole 
to insert the blade of scissors. From this hole 
cut diagonally to the corners of the square. 
When the cloth is put in place over the pack- 
ing the triangular flaps thus made may be tucked 
between the asbestos and the packing, while the 
edges of the cloth may be tucked between the 
packing and the sides of the box. Fit a cushion 
that will fill the space left at the top and nail it 
to the cover of the box. Face this with a piece 
of the sheet asbestos nailed into place. It will 
be well to reinforce the nail-heads with little 
rounds of tin, in order to prevent them from 
pushing through the soft asbestos. The box is 
then ready for use and should be stood up on 
end so that the cover will open like a door, and 
the oven will be right side up. The extra piece 
of asbestos may be laid in the bottom, the stones 
heated, and the food put in to cook. 

Method of using the oven. Heat the slabs 
very gradually the first time that they are used. 
It will be best to put an asbestos mat or piece 
of the sheet asbestos between a hot g?.s flame and 
the stones for a few minutes, not turning the gas 
on full force for the first five minutes. After 
the first using it will be safe to heat the stones 



THE INSULATED OVEN 225 

directly over the flame, providing it is not burn- 
ing with full force for the first few minutes. 
The degree of heat in the stones will regulate 
the heat of the oven. For most baking, the centre 
of the top side of the stones should be about as 
hot as a flatiron for ironing. This will mean 
that the side toward the flame is very much 
hotter, perhaps red hot. Another and better 
test is the browning of a piece of white tissue 
paper laid on the centre of the stones when they 
are put on to heat. When this grows a shade 
darker than manila paper, or a golden brown, 
the stones are right for loaf cakes, pastry, apples, 
potatoes, beans, scalloped dishes, most pud- 
dings, and bread. For a hot oven the paper 
should be a rich brown. This is suitable for 
biscuits, small cakes, roasting meat, etc. 

Although gas is the fuel here mentioned any 
other fuel will serve to heat the stones, provid- 
ed a hot enough flame can be procured. The 
stones may, when warmed, be set directly on a 
hot coal or wood fire to complete the heating, 
and, for out-of-doors use, a crude fireplace might 
be built up of rough stones to support the soap- 
stones, or they may be buried directly in the hot 
coals. In such a case it will probably be neces- 
sary to have some device, perhaps ice-tongs, 
for removing the stones, as the metal handles 



226 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

might in time become burned off, bent, or weak- 
ened so as to be unsafe. 

Small soapstone griddles or foot-warmers make 
excelle.nt slabs for the home-made insulated oven. 
Griddles are on the market that are as small as 
twelve inches in diameter, and foot-warmers 
come in many sizes. Those measuring eight by 
ten inches will be about as large as most women 
can easily handle, since they are thicker than 
the griddles, and are very heavy for their 
size. It will not be difficult to get an extra 
handle fitted to these, which will make them 
less awkward to manage. For baking many 
loaves of bread and cake, and for foods to 
cook over night, or for many hours, more 
than two stones may be necessary to maintain 
enough heat. 

The oven should not be opened during the 
baking, but if the food is not found to be cooked 
when it is opened, it may be quickly closed again, 
and left till the food is done. A succession of 
articles may be baked in an already heated 
oven by quickly removing the finished article 
and one or two stones to be reheated and tested, 
and slipped again into place. In this case the 
door of the oven should be instantly closed 
after removing anything from it. This method 
of baking a number of things in quick succession 



THE INSULATED OVEN 227 

is very economical as a few minutes will reheat the 
already warm stones. 

Lay one hot stone on the asbestos at the bot- 
tom of the oven with the hotter side down; put 
a wire oven shelf on this, and the food on the 
wire shelf. If the food will not rise higher 
than the top of the pan, a hot stone may be laid 
directly across the pan, but if this is not possible 
place the second wire shelf as close over the food 
as the cleats at the side of the oven will permit, 
and the stone on this shelf, also with the hot 
side down. In case more than one pan is to go 
in at once, and two stones will not supply enough 
heat, hot flatirons or stove lids may be used 
to supplement them. It is often convenient, 
when the oven is heated for baking one article, 
to put other things in to cook at the same time, 
even though they may not require browning. 
For instance: A chicken or roast may be cook- 
ing between two stones, while on top of the 
upper stone the giblets may be stewing in water, 
or some vegetables be boiling. It will be best 
in such cases to heat these foods till boiling 
before putting them in the oven, or they will 
cool it too much. Such foods, as do not require 
browning, will not need another stone on top. 
It may not be wise to put so much watery food 
in the oven when baking anything so critical as 



228 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

bread or loaves of cake, as it cools the oven to 
some extent. 

No matter how carefully the directions are 
given and followed some experimentation will 
probably be required before a novice, or even 
an experienced cook, will feel at ease with this 
new method of cookery, since the conditions 
may be so variable. But there is no reason why 
a careful observation of results and their causes 
should not soon lead one to become mistress 
of her own insulated oven, and it is likely that 
she will then become sufficiently attached to it 
to justify her perseverance. 

In case a cooker-pail is to be utilized for bak- 
ing it will be well to surround it, on top, bottom, 
and sides, with the heavy sheet asbestos described 
for insulating the oven. A wire rack will be 
needed for separating the food from too direct 
contact with the hot stones, and some device, 
such, perhaps, as an inverted wire frying-basket 
for supporting the upper stone. 

LIST OF ARTICLES REQUIRED FOR MAKING AND 
USING AN INSULATED OVEN 

Box. 

Hinges. 

Hasp. 

Packing material, hay, excelsior, etc. 

Portable oven. 



THE INSULATED OVEN 



229 



Two or more stone slabs, or iron plates. 

Cooking utensils, baking pans, etc. 

Cloth for facing and cushion. 

Nails and screws. 

One dozen small rounds of tin about one 
inch in diameter. 

One and one-quarter yards sheet asbestos 
(price about 20 cents a yard). 

Roast Beef 
Weigh the meat, trim off all parts which 
will not be good to serve, and save them for soups 
or stews. Wipe the meat clean with a damp 
cloth. Dredge it well with salt, pepper, and 
flour, put it into a dripping pan, and cook it in 
an insulated oven heated as directed for roasts of 
meat on page 225. Heat the pan and meat a 
little before putting them into the oven. The 
time for roasting beef depends upon the size 
and shape of the roasts. Thick pieces weigh- 
ing under ten pounds will roast rare in twelve 
minutes to a pound, medium rare in from fifteen 
to eighteen minutes, and well done in twenty- 
five or thirty minutes a pound. Thin pieces 
will take a few minutes less to each pound. 

Roast Mutton or Lamb 
Prepare the meat for roasting as directed for 
roast beef. Cook it in an insulated oven heated 



230 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

as directed for roasts on page 225, allowing twenty- 
five minutes to each pound for lamb, and from 
fifteen to eighteen minutes for mutton. 
Roast Veal 

Prepare the meat for roasting as directed for 
roast beef. Cook it in an insulated oven, heated 
as for roast beef, allowing from twenty-five to 
thirty minutes for each pound. 
Spareribs 

Wipe the meat clean with a damp cloth; 
sprinkle it with pepper and salt, put it in a pan, 
and roast it in an insulated oven, heated as directed 
for roasts on page 225, allowing twenty minutes 
or more to each pound. Heat the pan and 
meat a little before putting it in the oven. 
Brown Gravy for Roasts 

Drain away all fat from the pan, leaving the 
brown sediment. Add to this enough water 
to make the desired amount of gravy. Using 
this in the place of stock or water make Brown 
Sauce, using a measured quantity of the fat from 
the roast. Various seasonings may be added 
to this sauce to make a variety. Wine, Wor- 
cestershire sauce, ketchup, currant jelly, etc., 
are used in this way. 

Roast Chicken 

Draw, stuff, and truss a chicken as directed 
on page 130. Put it on its back in a baking-pan, 



THE INSULATED OVEN 231 

lay strips of fat salt pork on the breast, or rub 
breast, legs, and wings with butter or clarified 
veal fat. Dredge it well with salt and pepper. 
Heat the pan and chicken over the fire for a few 
minutes, and put it into an insulated oven heated 
as directed for roasts on page 225. Allow twenty- 
five minutes a pound for roasting chicken. 
Remove the string and skewers and serve it 
with Brown Gravy for Roasts to which the chopped 
giblets have been added. The giblets may be 
cooked, with salted water to cover them, in the 
insulated oven at the same time that the chicken 
is roasting; but in this case the stones should 
be hotter than otherwise. 

Roast Goose 

Singe and remove the pin-feathers from a 
goose. Wash it in hot, soapy water. Draw it 
and rinse it in cold water. Fill it two-thirds 
full with Stuffing for Poultry, or Potato Stuffing. 
Truss it, and rub the surface with butter, or 
lay fat salt pork on the breast. Dredge it with 
salt and pepper, heat it to warm the pan, and 
roast it in an insulated oven heated as directed 
for roasts on page 225, allowing fifteen or twenty 
minutes a pound. 

Roast Leg of Venison 

Prepare and cook it as roast mutton, allowing 
from twelve to fifteen minutes a pound for it to 



232 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

roast. Venison should be served rare, with 
Brown Gravy for Roasts, to one pint of which 
one-half tumbler of currant jelly and two table- 
spoonfuls of sherry wine have been added. 

Potato Stuffing 
2 cups hot potato, mashed J cup melted butter 

1 cup soft, stale bread- J cup milk 

crumbs 2 teaspoons salt 

J cup chopped salt pork i teaspoon powdered sage 

2 tablespoons chopped onion i egg 

Mix the ingredients in the order given. 

Roast Wild Duck 
Draw, clean, and truss a wild duck in the same 
manner as a goose. If it is to be stuffed, use 
Stuffing for Poultry, omitting the herbs; or merely 
fill the cavity with pared and quartered apples, 
or pared, whole onions. These should be 
removed before serving, but Stuffing for Poultry 
should be served with the duck. Roast it for 
from twenty to thirty minutes in an insulated 
oven, the stones heated a little hotter than for 
other roast meats. Serve it with mashed 
potato and currant jelly. 

Grouse 

Draw and clean a grouse, remove the feathers 

and the tough skin of the breast. Lard the breast 

and legs. Truss it, and lay fat salt pork on the 

breast. Dredge it with salt and flour, put it 



THE INSULATED OVEN 233 

into the roasting-pan with scraps of fat salt 
pork. Roast it for twenty or twenty-five 
minutes in an insulated oven heated as for 
wild duck. Remove the strings or skewers, 
sprinkle it with browned breadcrumbs, and 
garnish it with parsley. 

Roast Quail 
Prepare the quail in the same way as grouse. 
Roast it for fifteen or twenty minutes in an 
insulated oven heated as for duck. 

Roast Plover 
Prepare and cook it the same as quail. 

Potted Fish 

3 shad or 6 small mackerel ^ cup peppercorns 

J cup salt ^ cup whole allspice 

^ teaspoon cayenne pepper i onion, sliced 
^ cup whole cloves Vinegar to cover 

Clean the fish, remove the head, tail, fins, 
skin, and large bones. The small bones will be 
dissolved in the vinegar. Cut the fish into pieces 
for serving. Mix the salt, pepper, and spices. 
Pack the fish in layers in a small stone crock 
or deep agate-ware utensil, sprinkling the salt 
and adding pieces of onion between the layers. 
Pour over it vinegar to completely cover it. 
In the absence of a tight-fitting cover, use heavy, 
buttered paper tied on. Bake it for five or six 
hours in an insulated oven, the stones heated 



234 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

until the paper test shows a deHcate brown. 
Potted fish will keep well if put into a cold place 
and kept covered with vinegar. It makes a 
good relish for lunch or tea. 

Pork and Beans 
I cup beans i teaspoon molasses 

I teaspoon salt i tablespoon butter, or 

I teaspoon sugar | lb. salt pork 

Water to cover 

Cook the beans for four or more hours, as 
directed in the recipe for dried navy beans. 
Put them into a baking-dish, add the other 
ingredients, gashing the pork frequently and 
laying it on top. Put it into an insulated 
oven with stones that will turn white tissue 
paper a golden brown. Bake them for eight 
hours or more. 

Baked Potatoes 

Select potatoes of equal size, so that they 
will all bake in the same length of time; wash 
them and bake them in an insulated oven 
with the stones heated till the paper is a 
golden brown as explained in the test on 
page 225. Good-sized potatoes (eight ounces) 
should bake about forty-five minutes. Lay them 
on a rack to prevent them from touching the 
hot stone. They will bake better than in an 
ordinary oven. 



THE INSULATED OVEN 235 

Macaroni and Ham 

I cup macaroni, in one-inch i tablespoon flour 
pieces ^ teaspoon pepper 

1 small onion, grated | teaspoon salt 

i^ cups milk i§ cups minced, cooked ham 

2 tablespoons butter 2 cups buttered crumbs 

Cook the macaroni as directed in the recipe 
for macaroni. Make white sauce of the milk, 
butter, flour, and seasoning, add the onion, 
ham, and macaroni. Put it into a buttered 
baking-dish, cover the top with the crumbs, and 
bake it until the crumbs are brown, heating the 
stones until the paper test shows a golden brown. 

Serves six or eight persons. 

Scalloped Oysters 

I pt. or 30 oysters ^ cup oyster juice 

3 cups buttered crumbs i tablespoon finely chopped 
^ teaspoon salt celery leaves 

Few grains pepper 

Wash the oysters, strain the juice through 
cheese-cloth. Put one-fourth of the crumbs in 
the bottom of a baking dish, add half the oysters, 
half the salt and pepper and celery leaves; repeat 
these layers, pour over it the oyster juice, and 
put the remaining crumbs on top. Bake it in an 
insulated oven till brown, as directed for scalloped 
dishes, page 225. If double this recipe is used 
allow three-quarters of an hour for the baking, 
and do not heat the stones quite so hot. 



236 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

Macaroni and Cheese 

I cup macaroni in one-inch § teaspoon salt 
pieces ^ teaspoon pepper 

1 cup grated or shaved cheese 2 cups buttered crumbs 

Cook the macaroni in salted water as directed 
in the recipe for macaroni. When tender, drain 
it and add the salt, pepper, and cheese. Turn 
it into a buttered baking-dish and cover the top 
with the crumbs. Bake it until the crumbs are 
brown, heating the stones until the paper test 
shows a golden brown. 

Serves six or seven persons. 

Scalloped Chicken and Mushrooms 

2 cups buttered crumbs i cup White Sauce 
i^ cups cold, cooked chicken ^ teaspoon celery salt 

or fowl ^ cup mushrooms 

Cut the chicken in small pieces, slice or cut 
the mushrooms small. Put one-fourth of the 
crumbs into a buttered baking-dish. Mix the 
other ingredients and pour them into the dish. 
Spread the remaining crumbs on top and bake 
it in an insulated oven till brown, as directed 
for scalloped dishes, page 225. 

Scalloped Tomatoes 

I can of whole tomatoes, or 3 tablespoons butter 
8 good-sized raw tomatoes i tablespoon salt 

3 cups soft breadcrumbs ^ teaspoon pepper 

I small onion 



THE INSULATED OVEN 237 

If canned tomatoes are used, drain away the 
liquid from them, using only the soHd tomatoes. 
If raw tomatoes are used, scald them in boiling 
water and remove the skins and hard core. 
Melt the butter, add the crumbs, and stir them 
lightly until they are evenly buttered. Put 
one cupful in the bottom of a baking dish, lay 
the tomatoes over them, sprinkle the salt, pepper 
and grated onion over these and cover the top 
with the remaining crumbs. Bake them for one 
hour in an insulated oven, heating the stones 
until the paper test, given on page 225, shows a 
light brown colour. 

Serves six or eight persons. 

Scalloped Apples (Brown Betty) 

3 cups chopped sour apples ^ teaspoon cinnamon 
2 cups soft breadcrumbs J teaspoon nutmeg 

4 tablespoons butter | lemon, juice and rind 
i cup brown sugar ^ cup water 

Melt the butter, add the crumbs, and stir 
them till they are evenly buttered. Mix the 
spice and grated rind with the sugar. Divide 
the buttered crumbs in quarters. Into a but- 
tered baking dish put one-fourth of the crumbs. 
On this layer spread one-half the apples, then one- 
half the sugar. Sprinkle half of the lemon 
juice and water over this. Repeat these layers 
with one-fourth the crumbs and the remaining 



238 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

apple, sugar, etc. Cover the top with the crumbs 
that are left. Bake it for one hour and a half 
in an insulated oven. The stones should be 
heated till the test given on page 225 will show 
the papers a dehcate brown colour. Look at 
the apples at the end of one hour, closing the 
oven after a quick glance, and alter the heat of 
the oven, if necessary. Serve it with Hard Sauce. 
Serves five or six persons. 

Rice Pudding 

I qt. milk ^ cup sugar 

^ cup rice ^ teaspoon salt 

I teaspoon nutmeg 

Put all the ingredients together in a baking- 
dish. Bake it for three hours in an insulated 
oven. The stones should be heated until the 
paper test, given on page 225, will show a light 
brown shade. The pudding, if correctly baked, 
will be creamy, with a golden brown, soft crust 
on top. 

Serves five or six persons. 

Pastry for Two Crusts 

i^ cups pastry flour ^ teaspoon salt 

J teaspoon baking-powder J or ^ cup butter or lard 

Water 

Mix and sift the dry ingredients together; 
cut the butter or lard in with a fork. Add 
enough water to make a paste barely moist 



THE INSULATED OVEN 239 

enough to hold together, using a knife and cut- 
ting through the dough to mix it. Roll half of 
it with as little pressure of the rolling-pin as 
possible, until it is about one-eighth of an inch 
thick. If a two-crust pie is to be made, lay 
this crust on the inside of an unbuttered pie 
plate, trim the edge, and put the trimmings 
with the remaining paste and roll it out for the 
upper crust. If a single under crust is to be 
used, as for lemon pie, lay the paste on the out- 
side of a pie plate, trim the edge and prick 
through the crust in several places. Bake it 
for about fifteen minutes in a moderate insulated 
oven, with the pie plate upside down in the oven. 
Remove the baked crust and fill it. 

Apple Pie 

Sour apples ^ lemon, juice and rind 

i cup sugar J tablespoon butter 

^ teaspoon cinnamon 

Make pie crust by the preceding recipe, put 
half of it in the bottom of the plate. Pare 
enough apples to fill the pie heaping full, when 
cored and cut into eighths. Fill the pie with 
the apples, spread the sugar and cinnamon and 
grated rind over them. Roll out the upper 
crust, cut several gashes in it to allow steam 
to escape; lay it over the pie, trim the edges 
and press them together with a fork. Bind 



240 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

the edge of the pie by laying around it a wet 
strip of cloth about one inch wide. Bake it 
for one-half hour in an insulated oven with 
the stones heated until the paper test shows 
a golden brown colour. 

Apple and berry pies are better made with- 
out an under crust in an extra deep pie plate. 
Berry Pie 

Pick over the berries. Line a deep plate with 
crust, or omit the lower crust; fill the pie heap- 
ing full of berries, cover them with one-half 
cupful or. more of sugar mixed with one-fourth 
cupful of flour. Add the upper crust, bind it, 
and bake it as apple pie. The amount of sugar 
will depend upon the acidity of the fruit. 

Cherry or Plum Pie 
Wash the fruit, remove the stones, and make 
the pie in the same manner as berry pie. 

Pumpkin Pie 

i^ cups cooked pumpkin | cup sugar 

I cup boiling milk J teaspoon salt 

I egg J teaspoon cinnamon 

Cook the pumpkin as directed on page 152. 
Put it into a cloth and press it with the back 
of a strong spoon to squeeze out the water. 
Mix all the ingredients, put it into a pan set 
over a cooker-pail of boiling water; stir it until 
it is 165 degrees Fahrenheit, then put the whole 



THE INSULATED OVEN 241 

into a cooker for one hour. Fill the baked crust 
with the mixture. Cover the top thickly with 
whipped cream. 

Lemon Pie 

^ cup flour Rind of one lemon 

I cup sugar, granulated 4 teaspoons butter 

I cup boiling water J cup powdered sugar 

3 tablespoons lemon juice 2 eggs 

Mix the sugar and flour together, add the 
boihng water slowly, stirring it all the time. 
Boil it gently for twenty minutes, stirring it 
frequently. Mix the lemon with the yolks, pour 
the hot mixture slowly on the yolks, return it to 
the fire and cook it below boiling point until 
the eggs have thickened; then add the butter. 
Cool the filling a little before putting it into a 
baked crust. Beat the whites of eggs until very 
stiif, add the sugar, and when barely mixed 
with the whites, spread it over the pie for a 
meringue; bake it till a delicate brown in a very 
hot oven, or put it for a few minutes into an 
insulated oven with one very hot stone close 
over the pie. Serve it warm, but not hot. 

Serves five or six persons. 

Baked Apples 
Wash and core sour apples of uniform size. 
Put them into a pudding dish, fill the cores with 
sugar, and if more is desired put it into the 



242 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

bottom of the dish, not over the apples. Pour 
in enough boihng water to fill the dish one-fourth 
full. Bake them in an insulated oven for one- 
half to three-quarters of an hour, depending 
upon the size and ripeness of the apples. The 
stones should be heated until the paper test 
shows a golden brown colour. 

Baked Spiced Apples 

6 apples 2 cups water 

30 cloves § cup sugar 

6 slices lemon 

Pare the apples, remove the cores and stick five 
whole cloves into each apple. Make a syrup of 
the water and sugar. Put the apples into a pud- 
ding dish, pour the syrup over them, and place a 
slice of lemon over the top of each. Bake them in 
a slow insulated oven for one hour with the stones 
heated until the paper test shows a light brown. 

Baked Pears 

Prepare and cook the pears as directed for 
baked sweet apples. If desired, a bit of butter 
the size of a bean may be put on each pear before 
baking. 

Baked Quinces 

Prepare and cook the quinces as directed 
in the recipe for baked sweet apples. Twice as 
much sugar and water will be required for quinces, 
and, perhaps, more time for baking. This 



THE INSULATED OVEN 243 

will depend upon the size and ripeness of the 
fruit. It is usually cut in halves before baking. 

Baked Sweet Apples 

8 sweet apples J cup sugar 

I cup boiling water 

Prepare the apples as for baked apples. Cook 
them in a slow insulated oven, for about three 
hours. The stones should be heated until the 
paper barely changes colour, as explained in 
the test given on page 225. 

Bread 

I pt. water or milk j cake compressed or | cake dry 

1 tablespoon butter or lard yeast and 

2 teaspoons salt § cup warm water, or 
2 teaspoons sugar ^ cup liquid yeast 

Flour to make a dough 

Soak the yeast for a few minutes in the half 
cupful of warm water. Scald the milk or boil the 
water, add the fat, let it cool till lukewarm, 
then add the remaining ingredients, except the 
flour. If compressed yeast is used, add as 
much flour as is needed to make a dough that 
may be kneaded. If dry yeast or liquid yeast 
is used, add only one and one-half pints of flour; 
beat the mixture well, and let it rise till full of 
bubbles, usually over night; then add the remain- 
ing flour. The rest of the process is the same, 
no matter what yeast is used. Knead the dough 



244 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

until it is smooth and elastic, return it to the bowl, 
set it in a warm place to rise until it has doubled 
in size. Knead it again until all large bubbles 
are pressed out, mould it into two loaves, put 
it into greased pans and let it again rise until it 
has doubled in size. Heat the insulated oven 
stones until the paper test, given on page 225, 
shows a golden brown. Put the bread in and 
bake it from fifty minutes to one hour. If two 
stones will not make a hot oven for a large amount 
of bread to be baked, use hot flatirons or stove 
lids to supplement them. 

Rolls 
Add one tablespoon of butter to the recipe 
for bread, or knead the butter into the dough 
just before moulding it. Shape it into rolls, 
put them into a buttered pan, and when risen to 
a little more than double their size, bake them 
for twenty minutes in an insulated oven with 
stones that will turn the paper a rich brown, 
as explained in the test on page 225. 

Baking Powder Biscuits 

4 teaspoons baking-powder, or i pt. flour 

I teaspoon soda and two tea- ^ teaspoon salt 

spoons cream of tartar 2 tablespoons butter or lard 
f to I cup milk or water 

Mix and sift the dry ingredients, work in the 
fat with the fingers, or mash it in with a fork. 



THE INSULATED OVEN 245 

Add the liquid, one-third at a time, mixing the 
dough in three separate portions in the bowl. 
Cut through these three masses until they are 
barely mixed, then roll the dough to about one- 
half inch thickness; cut it into biscuits, lay them 
on a greased pan, brush the tops with milk or 
melted butter, and bake them for fifteen or twenty 
minutes in an insulated oven with stones heated 
so as to turn the paper a rich, dark brown, as 
explained in the test on page 225. 

Cup Cake 
i cup butter J cup milk 

1 cup sugar ^ teaspoon nutmeg, or 
i| cups flour I teaspoon vanilla 

2 eggs i^ teaspoons baking-powder 

■| teaspoon salt 

Cream the butter, add the sugar, then the beaten 
yolks of eggs. Mix and sift the dry ingredients, 
add them, one-third at a time, to the butter 
mixture, alternating with the milk. Beat the 
whites till stiff, add them and the vanilla, beat 
the dough till barely mixed, and pour it into a 
greased pan. The doiigh should not much more 
than half fill the pan. Bake it for forty minutes 
in an insulated oven, tested as explained on 
page 225, for loaves of cake. 

This recipe may be varied by adding one-half 
cupful of raisins, currants, chopped citron or 



246 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

nuts. Or two ounces of chocolate may be 
melted and added to the dough. 

If baked in layers or in gem pans the stones 
must be heated somewhat hotter than for a loaf 
cake. Allow fifteen or twenty minutes in the oven. 

Sour Cream Cake 

3 large eggs ^ teaspoon baking powder 

I cup sugar ij cups flour 

f cup thick sour cream ^ teaspoon nutmeg 

^ teaspoon soda i cup raisins 

Beat the yolks of the eggs, add the sugar, 
then the cream. Mix and sift the dry ingredients, 
add them to the liquid mixture, then add the 
raisins, which have been floured with a little 
of the measured flour, and, lastly, the stiflfly 
beaten whites of eggs. Put it into a greased 
pan and bake it for forty minutes in an insulated 
oven, heated for loaf cake, as explained in the 
test on page 225. 

Apple Sauce Cake 

(Made without butter, milk or eggs) 
^ cup white veal or beef drip- -j teaspoon cloves 

pings I teaspoon nutmeg 
I cup sugar i cup raisins 

I cup sour apple sauce i teaspoon soda 

i^ teaspoons cinnamon 2 cups flour 

Mix the ingredients in the order given, beat 
the dough well, put it into a greased pan, and 



THE INSULATED OVEN 247 

bake it for forty minutes in an insulated oven, 
heated for loaf cakes, as explained on page 225. 
This cake seems, when baked, very much like 
any spice cake. 

Sponge Cake 

6 eggs Juice and rind of h lemon 

I cup sugar i cup flour 

J teaspoon salt 

Beat the yolks of the eggs, add the sugar 
and lemon; beat the whites of eggs till stiff, add 
them to the mixture, and when barely mixed 
add the flour and salt, folding them in lightly. 
Put it into a bright, ungreased tin, and bake 
it fifty minutes or an hour in an oven heated 
not quite so hot as for butter cakes. The paper 
should turn light brown when tested as explained 
on page 225. 

Let the cake stand five minutes before remov- 
ing it from the pan. 

Plum Cake 

^ cup butter i cup currants 

2 cups sugar f cup pickled fruit syrup or 
4 eggs molasses 

^ cup chopped nuts 2 cups flour 

^ cup candied orange peel ^ teaspoon soda 

I cup raisins ^ teaspoon cream of tartar 

2 teaspoons mixed spices 

Mix and sift the flour, soda, cream of tartar, 
and spices. Put all the ingredients together 



248 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

in the order given, flouring the fruit with a little 
of the measured flour. Put it into a greased 
pan and bake it for one and one-quarter hours 
in an insulated oven, v^ith stones heated as 
explained on page 225, till the paper is a light brov^n. 

Rich Fruit Cake 
i lb. butter (i cup) J lb. citron 

^ lb. sugar (i cup) ^ lb. candied orange peel 

6 eggs I teaspoon nutmeg 

J cup brandy ^ teaspoon cloves 

^ cup lemon juice i teaspoon cinnamon 

Rind of I lemon, grated ^ teaspoon allspice 

2 cups blanched, chopped i lb. raisins 
almonds i lb. currants 

^ lb. flour (if cups) 

Line the pan v^ith three thicknesses of paper, 
buttering the top layer. Mix the flour and spices. 
Flour all the fruit except the citron. Mix the 
ingredients in the order in v^hich they are given. 
The pan may be filled nearly full, as this cake 
rises but little. Bake it for three hours or more 
in a very moderate insulated oven. Test the 
stones as explained on page 225, until the paper 
v^ill barely change colour. If, at the end of 
tv^o hours, the cake is not browned at all, take 
out one or both of the stones very quickly and 
heat them again till they will slightly brown the 
tissue paper. The oven must be promptly closed 
when the stones are removed, or the cake will be 



THE INSULATED OVEN 249 

injured. Test it with a steel knitting needle or 
straw. The needle will come out only a little 
greasy when the cake is done. 

Let the cake stand at least five minutes after 
removing it from the oven before taking out of 
the pans, or it is likely to break. Fruit cake 
should be kept for at least a week in a tightly 
covered tin box or a crock, before it is ready for 
use. It will keep for months, and improves 
with time. 



XXIV 

MENUS 

THE planning of a menu is an art in itself. 
Only a knowledge of the food value of 
different dishes, combined with a good sense of 
taste and fitness, and some idea of the com- 




parative wholesomeness of diff^erent methods of 
cooking, can produce a meal that is scientifically 
correct as well as pleasing to the palate. And 
now the conditions under which menus must 
be planned will be further modified in order to 

250 



MENUS 251 

obtain the freedom from the kitchen that fire- 
less cookery makes possible. It is thought 
that a classified time-table of the various dishes 
given in the book, giving the length of time 
which they require or may be allowed to cook, 
will be of assistance in grouping dishes that can 
be started at one time, put on to cook, perhaps, 
in one cooker, and left for the same period of 
time. 

The illustration at the head of this chapter, 
shows a cooker-pail so arranged as to cook more 
than one article at once. With this arrangement 
a cooker with several compartments would accom- 
modate a number of different foods at one time. 

The fireless cooker makes it possible to plan a 
breakfast which would be ready to serve at once, 
or would take only a few minutes to prepare- 
If started in the evening, cereals may cook all 
night, and be entirely ready in the morning; 
some meat dishes may cook all night. Coffee, 
although better when made fresh, may be put 
into the cooker over night, cereal coffees being 
at their best after all-night cooking. With these 
for a basis, the menu may be varied by dishes 
which would cook quickly, such as eggs; or which 
might cook through the night and be completed 
in a few minutes in the morning, such as creamed 
codfish; or which might be cooked the day before, 



252 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

if served cold, such as stewed fruits; or by fresh 
fruits. But Httle of the precious early morning 
time would thus be required. 

BREAKFASTS 

No. I 
All dishes cooked over night, or served cold. 
Ready to serve at once 

Apple Sauce 

Oatmeal 

Beef or mutton stew 

Postum 

No. 2 

Ready to serve in fifteen minutes. 

Stewed rhubarb (served cold) 

Cream of Wheat (cooked all night) 

Soft-cooked eggs (cooked in the morning 

in the already warm water over which 

the cereal was cooked) 

Coffee (cooked in the morning or over night) 

No. 3 
Ready to serve in ten minutes. 

Stewed prunes (served cold) 

Cornmeal mush (cooked all night) 

Stewed kidney (cooked all night, finished in the 

morning) 

Cocoa (cooked in the morning or all night) 

For a midday dinner the cooker may often 
be filled in the morning, after breakfast, with 



MENUS 



253 



foods requiring about three or four hours to 
cook, such as vegetable soup, beef stew, spinach, 
etc. Where a late dinner is served, it may be 
filled in the morning and allowed to stand all 
day, provided foods are chosen that need or will 
not be harmed by the long cooking; or it may be 
partly filled after breakfast and other dishes be 
added after lunch. Even where the entire meal is 
not cooked in a fireless cooker, it may be conve- 
nient to have one or two dishes so prepared, and the 
remainder served cold or cooked on the stove. 

DINNERS 

No. I 

To be left in the cooker three or four hours. 

Creole soup 

Veal cutlets 

Mashed potatoes 

Carrots 

Stewed celery 

Rice pudding 

No. 2 
Put into the cooker in the morning and cooked 
all day. 

Cream of celery soup 

Pot roast 

Beets 

Dried lima beans 

Tapioca fruit pudding (previously cooked and 

served cold) 



254 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

No. 3 
Put into the cooker in the morning and cooked 
all day. 

Mutton broth 
Stuffed heart 

Cabbage 

String beans 

Compote of rice and fruit (previously cooked and 

served cold) 

No. 4 

Part cooked all day, and part cooked through 
the afternoon. 

Consomme 

Fricasseed chicken 

Samp 

Winter squash 

Creamed turnips 

Stev^^ed figs with cream 



SUPPERS OR LUNCHES 
No. I 

Hot dishes in the cooker two hours. 

Breaded veal cutlets 

Creamy potatoes 

Stevv^ed apricots 

Cookies 

Cocoa 



MENUS 255 

No. 2 
Hot dishes requiring only one hour to cook. 

Turkish pilaf 

Salmon loaf 

Lettuce salad 

Canned quinces 

Cake 

Tea 

MIDNIGHT SUPPERS 

Served after theatre or entertainment, the 
hot dish to be put into the cooker before going 
out. Ready to serve at once. 

No. I 

Stewed oysters 

Saltines 

Celery 

Bonbons 

No. 2 

Cocoa 

Salad 

Bread and butter sandwiches 

Olives 



APPENDIX 

Reading references and experiments illustrat- 
ing the principles upon which fireless cookery 
is based. 

I. A test of the insulating powers of different 
materials. 

Apparatus: 

One or more boxes and fittings, described on pages 9 to II. 

One or more pails of the same size, shape and mate- 
rial, preferably of from two to four quarts' capacity, with 
close fitting covers. 

Cooking thermometer Sawdust 

Wool Newspapers 

Mineral wool Ground cork 

Cotton batting or waste Southern moss 

Excelsior Pencil 

Hay Notebook 

Pack the box successively with as many of 
the different packing materials given above as 
are to be tested, following the directions given 
on page 15; or have several exactly similar boxes 
packed at the same time. For all tests fill the 
cooker-pail with water, bring it to the boiling 

257 



258 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

point, let it boil one minute, to permit all parts 
of the utensil and its contents to reach the same 
temperature; then put it at once into the cooker- 
box and leave it for an equal length of time, 
not less than one hour. Record the temperature 
of the contents of the pail at the expiration of 
this period. In order to get a full record and 
a fair comparison it would be well to repeat this 
experiment with varying periods of time, taking 
the temperature, for instance, at the end of one, 
three, six, nine, and twelve hours. In taking 
temperatures do not wholly remove the cushion 
and cover of the pail, but slip them to one side, 
enough to insert the thermometer. This is, of 
course, a crude method of taking temperatures, 
but answers for purposes of comparison. If it is 
desired to make more accurate records this can 
be done by boring the cover of the box, the 
cushion and the pail cover, and inserting a 
thermometer through corks which are used to 
close the bored holes. The temperature can 
then be read while the apparatus is closed. 
However, the first method, if carefully done, 
will give probably within one degree of the 
correct temperature. Record the results in 
tabular form. 

Which material do you find gives the best 
insulation .? 



APPENDIX 259 

Winkelman,* Duff,t and other writers on 
physics give tables of the conductivity of felt, 
asbestos paper, paper, cotton, flannel, and other 
materials; but as different figures are shov^n, 
from different sources, for the same material, 
it is likely that the insulating power of any mate- 
rial used for packing a cooker will depend as 
much or more upon the way it is packed as upon 
the material used. 

Experiment: Conductivity of different materials. 

Take a piece of copper wire about six inches 
long in one hand, and a piece of steel wire of the 
same length and thickness in the other. Put 
one end of each piece in a flame, holding the 
wire by the extreme end. Notice which first 
becomes too hot to hold at the end farthest from 
the flame. This illustrates the different con- 
ductivity of the two materials, steel and copper. 
There is not a great deal of difference in the 
conductivity of different materials, but metals 
are relatively good conductors, and air is a very 
poor conductor. 

2. Heat is carried from the pail partly by con- 
vection, except where solid insulating material, 
such as wood or indurated fibre, is used; and 



* " Handbuch der Physik." 
t " Textbook of Physics." 



26o THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

that manner of packing which best entangles 
the air and prevents air currents will, there- 
fore, most increase the effectiveness of the 
insulation. 

Experiment: Convection. 

Into a glass flask of cold water drop a few 
crystals of potassium permanganate, being 
careful not to agitate the flask. Apply a flame 
to the bottom of the flask. As the water 
becomes heated its density is reduced and it 
rises, forming convection currents which are 
coloured by the permanganate and may be 
distinctly seen. 

Convection currents may be formed in any 
liquid or gas; for instance, air. By means of 
them heat will be carried from one part of the 
Hquid or gas to another. Thus air heated by 
contact with a kettle of food will, if allowed 
to flow freely, carry the heat away from the 
food. 

3. Heat IS also lost by radiation. This takes 
place less rapidly from a bright, highly polished 
surface, and for this reason "Thermos" and 
similar bottles are encased in polished nickle. 
A cooker-pail with polished outside surface 
retains heat better than one with a dull finish. 
In those cookers made with a metal outside 



APPENDIX 261 

retainer, the surface should not be painted 
or roughened or dulled by any means. 
Experiment: Radiation. 

Take two empty tin cans of the same size and 
shape. Wash off the paper labels. Keep one 
of them bright and shining, but move the other 
through a candle flame until the entire outer sur- 
face is smoked. Into each pour exactly the same 
quantity of water at the same temperature. 
Note carefully the temperature and the time. 
At the end of any given period, say one hour, 
again take the temperature of each. Which 
has lost the most heat, that in the bright can or 
that in the dull can } 

4.. The effect of different degrees or thicknesses of 
insulation. 
Materials: 

The same as those used in the experiment, 
section i, with the addition of boxes of various 
sizes, some smaller, some larger, than the one 
used in the first experiment. 

Pack the boxes with one or more of the 
various insulating materials used in the first 
experiment, so as to allow varying thicknesses 
of insulation around the cooker-pail. This 
should be the same or an exactly similar pail 
in each case. Fill the pail for all tests with 



262 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

an equal quantity of water, boil it for one 
minute, and leave it in the boxes for an equal 
length of time. Record the temperature main- 
tained in each test. Keep the record in tab- 
ular form. 

What thickness of insulation do you find 
gives the best result with the materials used in 
your experiment ? Is it necessary to assume 
that the same thickness will be required with 
all insulating materials ? 

5. The effect of the density of foods upon the 
temperature maintained. 

Materials: 

One cooker or hay-box Cooking thermometer 

Starch Scales 

Water Litre or quart measure 

Salt Notebook and pencil 

Bring one or more litres or quarts of water to 
a boil, boil it for one minute, and put it into the 
cooker for one hour or more. Repeat the test, 
using, successively, five grams of salt to each 
litre, or one teaspoonful to each quart, and 5, 
10, and 20 per cent, mixtures of starch 
with water. Record the temperatures in tabular 
form, and compare the results. What would 
you gather to be the effect of density upon the 
temperatures maintained .? 



APPENDIX 263 

6. The effect on temperature of filling the 
cooker-pails one-fourth, one-half, three-quarters, 
and entirely full. 

Materials : 

Cooker or hay-box pail of "Space adjuster" 

eight quarts' capacity Water 

Pail of two quarts' capacity Thermometer 
Notebook and pencil 

Fill the large cooker-pail one-fourth full of 
water. Bring it to a boil and put it into the 
cooker for a definite period of time, not less 
than one hour. Record the resulting temperature. 
If desired to make the test more comprehensive, 
leave the water in the cooker for six, nine, or twelve 
hours, being careful to allow the cooker to become 
cold between each test. Perform the same 
experiment with the same pail one-half full, 
again when it is three-fourths full, and again 
when entirely full. Record the results in tabular 
form and compare them. Repeat these tests 
with a pail of two quarts' capacity. What is 
the influence on temperature of having pails 
partially, or completely, filled .? 

The explanation is that evaporation takes place 
in partially filled pails. 

7. Chemistry of the action of food materials 
{salt, soda, acids, water, etc.) upon cooking 



264 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

utensils made of tin, or aluminum, when used 
in a cooker or hay-box. 

The amount of tin dissolved by foods is indi- 
cated by the corrosion of the utensil, which can 
often be seen by the naked eye to be altered in 
appearance. The exact quantity of tin salts 
or other tin compounds which may be formed 
can only be determined by careful chemical 
analysis. It has been found that many canned 
goods supposed to be inert, such as squash and 
pumpkin, have a marked effect upon tin. Crude 
tests with a number of different foods can be 
made with tin, iron, aluminum, and copper 
utensils, as in many cases there is evidence to 
the eye of action upon the metals. It must be 
borne in mind, however, that such tests are 
crude and not decisive of the fact of there being 
no action in case no action is plainly visible. 
Only chemical analysis can prove this. 

The action of foods upon tin cans bears a close 
relation to their action upon the utensils when 
used in fireless cookery, since there is time with 
the long cooking involved for similar reactions 
to take place in the cooker. * 

Tin utensils rust badly after short use in a 
cooker, and thus affect the flavour of food cooked 

* See " Food Inspection and Analysis," by Leach, published by John 
Wiley Sons, New York, 1904, page 694. 



APPENDIX 265 

in them. This is due to the action of acids and 
water on the iron which forms the basis of sheet 
tin. When the thin plating of tin is worn off, 
the iron is left exposed to the action of water, etc. 
Soda dissolves aluminum, and leaves a black 
surface on aluminum utensils. This black sub- 
stance is iron, which is present with the aluminum 
in the utensils. To remove the black appear- 
ance, clean the utensil with acid. Do not try 
to remove it by scouring, as this will not do the 
work well, and is laborious and injurious to 
the pail. 

Detection of poisonous metals that may be 
dissolved from the cooker utensils. 

Experiment A. Tin. In a tin cooker-pail 
boil such foods as apple sauce, tomatoes, squash, 
or others that act on tin, and put them into a 
cooker for twelve hours. Transfer them to an 
agate ware or porcelain utensil, evaporate them 
over steam until they may be burned in a porce- 
lain dish until charred and brittle. Pulverize 
this charred mass, and extract it with hydro- 
chloric acid. Filter and wash it. Saturate the 
filtrate with hydrogen sulphide gas; add a satu- 
rated solution of potassium acetate to neutralize 
the hydrochloric acid present and assist in the 
coagulation of sulphide of tin. Warm it slightly, 
filter and wash out the stannic sulphide, dry it 



266 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

and weight it as stannic oxide, from which the 
tin dissolved may be calculated. 

Experiment B. Aluminum. To simphfy the 
experiment a weak solution of mahc acid may 
be used (seven grams per litre being about the 
average amount found in apples). Bring this to 
a boil in an aluminum cooker-pail and put it 
into a cooker for twelve hours. Transfer it to 
a porcelain vessel and add ammonia to precipi- 
tate the alumina. Filter and wash this, dry 
and weigh the aluminum oxide. It is probable 
that a smaller quantity of aluminum would be 
dissolved by foods of a mushy consistency than 
would be found in this clear solution. 

8. The efficiency of home-made refrigerating 
boxes compared with other means of keeping 
foods cold. 

Materials: 

One box fitted as for fireless cooking, with two or three 
covered crocks of at least one-half gallon capacity, packed 
as directed on page 37, with either sawdust, hay, straw, 
excelsior or paper. Sawdust is specially recommended. 

Thermometer 

Ice 

Notebook and pencil 

Fill the central crock with a weighed quan- 
tity of ice. Fill one or both of the other crocks 
with water at room temperature. Cover the crocks 



APPENDIX 267 

and close the box. Record the temperature of 
the water at the end of six, twelve, twenty-four, 
and forty-eight hours. 

Make repeated observations of the tempera- 
tures found in ordinary household refrigerators, 
cellars, cold storage rooms, and any other places 
used for keeping foods cold. Compare these 
with the temperatures obtained with a home- 
made refrigerating box. Is there any economy 
in using these boxes ^ 

Bacteriology of Insulating Boxes 

p. Temperatures which kill disease and putre- 
factive germs y or check their growth. 

It is taken for granted that the student of this 
subject will be more or less familiar with the 
nature of bacteria and the elements of bacteri- 
ology. It will be recalled that bacteria are a 
vegetable form of life; that, like all plants, they 
have, under certain conditions, the power of 
growth which is shown, largely, by their repro- 
duction; and that under other conditions they 
are killed. When their growth is merely checked, 
they are in a dormant state, or perhaps form 
spores, in either of which cases they are ready 
to develop as soon as their environment permits. 
Temperature has much to do with the state of 
bacteria. If the temperature and other conditions 



268 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

are such that they are in an active or growing 
state, they will multiply with enormous rapidity. 
When in food stuffs they effect certain changes 
by reason of the products which they form as a 
result of their life processes, or of the alteration in 
the food materials, owing to their abstraction 
of some chemical elements or compounds used 
for their nutrition. When bacteria form 
unpleasant smelling or tasting substances we 
speak of them as "putrefactive bacteria." Those 
which, if introduced into the bodies of humans 
or animals, will cause diseases, are called "disease 
bacteria.'' Foods are liable to contain both kinds; 
and, therefore, it is, obviously, wise to do all that 
is possible to kill them or prevent their growth. 
Most forms occurring in foods grow best 
at from 80 degrees to 98 degrees Fahrenheit. 
Few bacteria grow at above 100 degrees, and, 
if kept at 125 degrees, the weaker ones soon die. 
After subjection to a temperature of 150 degrees 
to 160 degrees Fahrenheit, for ten minutes, if 
water is present, almost all kinds are killed 
unless they are in the spore state. Prolonged 
boiHng will often be resisted by spores. Dry heat 
is not as effective in killing bacteria as moist, and 
a higher temperature must, therefore, be reached 
to effect this end. Below 70 degrees Fahrenheit 
the growth of bacteria is more and more retarded, 



APPENDIX 269 

but not entirely checked until freezing point is 
reached. The popular idea that freezing may be 
relied upon to destroy bacteria is not true. 

The bearing of these facts upon the subject 
of bacteria in foods cooked in insulating boxes 
is evident. Whether foods are cooked or kept 
cold, care must be taken that such a temperature 
is reached that bacteria may not grow. 

In application of these principles we see that 
foods must be heated sufficiently to kill bacteria 
before it will be safe to subject them to the com- 
paratively low temperature of the cooker for 
the long period necessary. This is one reason 
why foods in large pieces, such as roasts of meat, 
whole vegetables, and moulds containing a mass 
of food, must be boiled for a considerable time 
before being put into the cooker. Heat will not 
penetrate at once to the centre of such foods, 
and they would be likely to ferment or putrefy 
unless boiled long enough to heat the centre 
beyond the point where bacteria thrive. The 
fact that meats, cereals, and other foods have 
been known to sour or ferment, even after such 
boiling, if left in the cooker for a very long time, 
may be explained by the fact that, though all 
growing bacteria were killed, spores, which 
resisted the boiling, might have been present 
in the food, and when it cooled to a point con- 



270 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

ducive to the germination of these spores, and 
remained at this temperature for long, they might 
have developed, become active, and produced the 
objectionable changes characteristic of their kind. 

In the case of foods to be kept in refrigerating 
boxes, a temperature considerably belov^ 70 
degrees Fahrenheit must be maintained. 50 
degrees Fahrenheit, or lower, vs^ill be found an 
excellent preventive of germ growth. 

Mr. L. A. Rogers has written a clear and 
concise description of the nature, growth, and 
conditions necessary to combat bacteria such as 
are found in food, in his paper entitled "Bacteria 
in Milk," published in the Yearbook of the 
Department of Agriculture, 1907, pages 180 to 196. 

Other books which give information on this 
subject are "Bacteria Yeasts and Molds in the 
Home," by Conn, and "Household Bacteri- 
ology," by S. Maria Elliott. 

Yeasts and moulds also may take part in the 
changes which spoil foods; but the temperature 
conditions which control bacteria would be 
practically the same for them. 

10. Cooking temperatures of different starches. 
Experiment: Cooking starch. 

Pare and grate one or more potatoes. Wash 
the gratings by placing them in a cheesecloth 



APPENDIX 



271 



bag and immersing them in cold water. Squeeze 
and press the contents of the bag until no more 
starch seems to pass through the cloth. Let it 
settle, pour off the water; add clear water and let 
the starch settle again. Pour off the second 
water. Take one tablespoonful of the starch, 
mix it with one cupful of cold water. Heat it 
slowly over a moderate fire, stirring it constantly, 
and recording the temperature at which the 
mixture becomes noticeably clearer and thickens. 

Repeat this experiment with corn-starch; 
wheat starch, washed from wheat flour, as is done 
with the grated potato; with starch washed 
from rye flour; and, if desired, with rice, bean, 
pea, oat and tapioca starches, also. 

"Food and the Principles of Dietetics," by 
Hutchison, gives, on page 378, a Hst of different 
starches and the temperatures at which they 
gelatinize. 

In a bulletin entitled "Digestibility of Starch 
of Different Sorts as Affected by Cooking," 
by Edna D. Day, Ph.D. (U. S. Dept. of Agri- 
culture, Office of Experiment Stations, Bulletin 
No. 202, page 40), we read that starch takes 
up water at 60 degrees to 80 degrees Centigrade 
(140 degrees to 176 degrees Fahrenheit) and 
forms a sticky, colloidal substance known as 
starch paste, in which form it is very easily digested. 



272 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

Long boiling, at least to the extent of three 
hours, does not make it more quickly digestible. 
There is something to be considered besides 
the mere starch in cooking starchy foods, and 
the fact that potato starch will form paste at 
149 degrees while rice starch requires 176 degrees 
does not mean that less cooking will be needed 
for potatoes than for rice. The woody fibre 
or other constituents of foods, as well as their 
density and difference in size, must be taken 
into account. 

II. Cooking temperatures of proteids. 

Egg Albumen 

In the bulletin entitled "Eggs and Their 
Uses as Food," by C. F. Langworthy, Ph.D., 
published as Farmers' Bulletin, No. 128, by 
the U. S. Department of Agriculture, the state- 
ment is made that "egg white begins to coagulate 
at 134 degrees Fahrenheit. White fibres appear 
which become more numerous until at about 
160 degrees Fahrenheit the whole mass is coagu- 
lated, the white almost opaque, yet it is tender 
and jelly-like. If the temperature is raised to 
212 degrees Fahrenheit, and continued, the 
coagulated albumen becomes much harder and 
eventually more or less tough and horn-like; it 
also undergoes shrinkage. It has been found 



APPENDIX 273 

by experiment that the yolk of egg coagulates 
firmly at a lower temperature than the white." 

It also says that these changes in the albumen 
suggest the idea that it is not advisable to cook 
eggs in boiling water in order to secure the most 
desirable result. 

Experiment A: To show the changes that 
take place in egg white at various temperatures. 

Materials'. 

Test-tube and holder Thermometer 

Beaker or saucepan of water Egg white 

Put the white of egg into the test-tube. Insert 
the thermometer. Hold the test-tube in the pan 
of cold water to the depth of the egg white. 
Gradually heat the water and observe the tem- 
perature at which the first change in the egg 
albumen takes place. Notice also the tempera- 
ture of the water at this point. Continue the 
experiment until the water in the outer vessel 
has boiled ten or twenty minutes, noting the 
temperatures at which the various changes occur. 

Experiment B: To shov/ the temperatures 
obtained in the proper cooking of eggs. 

Materi ah : 

Fireless cooker Water 

Eggs Thermometer 

Cook eggs as directed for soft-cooked eggs on 
page 190, observing the temperature of the water 



274 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

after the eggs are added to it, and when they 
are removed from the cooker; also the condition, 
flavour, etc., of the eggs. 

Cereal Proteids 

Professor Harcourt, in his bulletin, *' Break- 
fast Foods," published by the Ontario Depart- 
ment of Agriculture, pp. 20 and 29, says that 
long cooking of cereals renders the protein more 
digestible. The cooking which he describes was 
carried on in a double boiler, and, therefore, 
below boiling temperature, and in this respect 
is similar to fireless cookery. He says that 
while short cooking, which was done at boiling 
temperature, seemed to make cereal proteids 
less digestible, the long cooking at below boiling 
temperature, which followed, somewhat changed 
them and made them more digestible. 

While little study appears to have been made 
of the digestibility of cereal proteids when cooked 
for a long time at a low temperature, it is prob- 
ably fair, in the absence of further definite infor- 
mation, to assume that, like animal proteids, 
it is better to cook them at a low temperature 
such as that of the fireless cooker, than at the 
temiperature of boiling water or higher. 
Meat Proteids 

In the bulletin entitled "A Precise Method 
of Roasting Meat," by Elizabeth A. Sprague 



APPENDIX 275 

and H. S. Grindley, published by the Univer- 
sity of IlHnois, a study is made of the tempera- 
tures at which the changes take place from 
raw meat to "rare"; from "rare" to "medium 
rare," and from this to "well done" meat. The 
authors found that if the centre of the meat is 
between 130 degrees and 148 degrees Fahrenheit 
(55 degrees and 65 degrees Centigrade), it is 
rare; if it is between 148 degrees and 158 degrees 
Fahrenheit (65 degrees and 70 degrees Centi- 
grade), it is medium rare; and if it is between 
158 degrees and 176 degrees Fahrenheit (70 
degrees and 80 degrees Centigrade), it is well 
done. They found no advantage in cooking 
meat in a very hot oven (385 degrees Fahrenheit, 
or 195 degrees Centigrade), but rather a diffi- 
culty to keep it from burning; that in an oven 
which was about 350 degrees Fahrenheit (175 
degrees Centigrade), the meat cooked better; 
and that in an Aladdin oven which kept the 
meat at about 212 degrees Fahrenheit (100 degree 
Centigrade), it cooked best of all; that is, it was 
of more uniform character all through, more 
juicy, and more high flavoured. This seems 
to point to an advantage in fireless cookery for 
meats, and practical experience bears it out. 
The initial heat of the insulated oven serves 
to sear and brown the meat, and when this 



276 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 

heat is reduced by the cooHng of the stones, the 
low temperature found to be best for completing 
the roasting is obtained. With regard to meats 
cooked in water in the cooker, experience has 
shown that they become well done and are more 
tender than when boiled, showing that the tem- 
peratures necessary to reach that degree of 
cooking are obtained even in the centre of a large 
piece of meat, without toughening or hardening 
the outside of the meat, as is done when more 
intense heat is applied. 

The hardening effect of long cooking at a 
high temperature on meat proteids can be de- 
monstrated by broiling a tender piece of steak 
until it is rare, cutting off a small piece, continuing 
the broiling for a few minutes, cutting off another 
piece and comparing these pieces with the 
remainder, which should be broiled until very 
well done. 



ADDITIONAL RECIPES 



277 



278 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 



ADDITIONAL RECIPES 279 



28o THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 



ADDITIONAL RECIPES 281 



282 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 



ADDITIONAL RECIPES 283 



284 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 



ADDITIONAL RECIPES 285 



286 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 



ADDITIONAL RECIPES 287 



288 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 



ADDITIONAL RECIPES 289 



290 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 



ADDITIONAL RECIPES 291 



292 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 



ADDITIONAL RECIPES 293 



294 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 



ADDITIONAL RECIPES 295 



296 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 



CLASSIFIED INDEX OF RECIPES 

AND TIME TABLE 
FOR THE FIRELESS COOKER 



Boil on Stove 

Minutes 

5 
5 

lO 

60 
10 
10 

5 
Boii . 
Boil . 
Boil . 
Boil . 



Rolled Oats . 
Corn-Meal Mush 
Hominy Grits 
Samp . 

Cracked Wheat 
Steel-cut Oats 
Pettijohn's Break 
Cream of Wheat 
Wheatlet . . 
Farina 
Rice . . . 



CEREALS 










In Cooker 






Hours 


PAGE 




2 -12 . . . 


54, 204 


. 


<; -10 or more 


54, 204 


. . . . 


10 or more 


55. 205 


. . . . 


6 -12 




150, 205 




20 




55. 205 


. . . . 


20 




56, 206 


iastFood . 


2 -12 




56, 206 




I -12 




56, 206 




I -12 




56, 206 




I -12 




56, 206 


. . . . 


1-2 




149, 206 



SOUPS 



Boil on 


Stove 




In Cooker 




Minutes 




Hours 


PAGE 


10 




White Stock .... 


9-12 . . 


62, 207 


2 






To Clear Stock . . . 


J or more 


59 


10 






Brown Stock, No. i 


9-12 . . 


60, 207 


10 






Brown Stock, No. 2 


9-12 . . 


61 


10 






Bouillon 


9-12 . . 


62 


Warm 






Beef Broth .... 


h . . 


63 


Boil . 






Mutton Broth . . . 


9-12 . . 


63, 207 


10 






Consomme .... 


9-12 . . 


64 


20 and 5 


Mock-Turtle Soup No. i 


9-12 . . 


65 








297 







298 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 



Boil on Stove 


In Cooker 


Mimites 


Hours 


IC 


. . Mock-Turtle Soup No. 2 


9 or more . 


I 


Vegetable Soup with Stock 


3 or more . 


Boil . 


. . Cream of Celery Soup . 


3 or more . 


Boil . 


. Asparagus Soup . 


2J or more 


Boil . 


. Tomato Soup with Stock 


I or more . 


Boil . 


. Creole Soup .... 


I or more . 


Boil . 


. . Ox Tail Soup . . . 


2 or more . 


Boil . 


Julienne Soup 


2 or more . 


Boil . 


. Macaroni Soup . 


2 . . . 


2 


. Vegetable Soup . 


3 or more . 


Boil . 


. Bean Soup .... 


. 9-12 . . . 


Boil . 


. Black Bean Soup 


8-12 . . . 


Boil . 


. Tomato Soup 


I or more . 


Boil . 


. Puree of Lima Beans 


4 or more . 


Boil . 


. Baked Bean Soup . . 


3 or more . 


Boil . 


. Pea Soup 


2 or more . 


10 


. Split-Pea Soup 


5 • • • 


Boil . 


. Potato Soup 


1 1 or more . 


Boil . 


. Fish Chowder . . . . 


I and h 


Boil . 


. Clam Chowder . . . 


1-2 . . 


Boil . 


. Connecticut Chowder 


I and J 


Boil . 


Oyster Stew .... 


J or more . 


Boil . . 


. Clam Stew 


J or more . 



FISH 



Boil on 


Stove 






In Cooker 


Minutes 




Hours 


Boil . 




Boiled Fish .... 


I ... 


Boil . 






Creamed Salt Codfish No. i 


I J or more . 


Boil . 






Creamed Salt Codfish No. 2 


I ^ or more . 


Boil . 






Codfish Balls .... 


li . . . 


Boil . 






Salt Fish Souffle . 




li . . . 


15 






Salmon Loaf . 




1-2 ... 


10 






Casserole of Fish 




f-2 . . . 


Boil . 






Cape Cod Turkey 




li- 3 • ■ . 


Boil . 






Creamed Oysters 




§ or more . 


5 






Lobster . . . 




3 • • 


5 






Crabs .... 




1-3 . . . 



INDEX AND TIME TABLE 299 

VEGETABLES 



Boil on Stove 






In Cooker 








Minutes 






Hours 




PAGE 


Boil . 


. Asparagus 




1 . . . 




136 


Boil . 


. Cabbage, Summer 






Ii-I2 . . 






137 


Boil . 


. Cabbage, Winter 






3 or 4-12 






137 


Boil . 


. Cauliflower 






ii-3 • . 






137 
138 


Boil . 


. . Carrots . . . 






I - 3 or more 






Boil . 


. . Corn .... 






?- 2 








5 


. Beets, new 






4 ^ . . 
5-6 or more 






139 
139 


5 


. . Beets, old . . , 






6 or more 






139 


Boil . 


. . Fresh Shelled Beans 






2i or more 






139 


Boil . 


. String Beans . . 






6-12 . . 






140 


Boil . 


. Lima Beans . 






I J or more 






140 


Boil . 


. Dried Lima Beans 






3 or more 






140 


Boil . 


. Dried Navy Beans 






8 or more 






141 


Boil . 


. Chard .... 






3 or more 
2 or more 








Boil . 


. Spinach . . . 










T4I 
142 


Boil . 


. Beet Greens . 






2 1 or more 






142 


Boil . 


. Stewed Celery 






2-4 . . 






142 


Boil . 


. Macaroni, soaked 






I J, or 2 if not soaked 




143 


Boil . 


Macaroni and Cheese 


, soake 


d I J, or 2 if not soaked 




236 


Boil . 


. Macaroni and Ham, s 


oaked 


I J, or 2 if not soaked 




235 


Boil . 


. Macaroni Italienne, s 


oaked 


1 1, or 2 if not soaked 




143 


Boil . 


. Macaroni Milanaise, 


soaked 


li, or 2 if not soaked 




144 


Boil . 


. Spaghetti, soaked 




1 J, or 2 if not soaked 




144 


Boil . 


. Noodles . . . . 




2 ... 


78 


y 145 


Boil . . 


. Creamed Mushrooms 




2-6 ... 






145 


Boil . . 


. Fricasseed Mushroom 


s . . 


2-6 . . 






145 


Boil . . 


. Onions . . . . 




2-8 ... 






146 


1 


. Potatoes . . . . 




ii-3 ... 






146 


Boil . . 


. Creamy Potatoes 




i-3i . . 




147 


216 


Boil . . 


. Stewed Potatoes . 




1-3 ... 






147 


Boil . . 


. Peas 




1-2 or more . 
2-12 ... 






148 


Boil . . 


. Old Peas . . . . 








Boil . . 


. Rice, No. I . . . 










148 


Boil . . 


. Rice No. 2 . . , 




I 




149' 


206 


Boil . . 


. Savoury Rice . . . 




I ... 






149 


Boil . . 


. Pilaf 






I ... 




149. 


218 



300 



THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 



Boil on Stove 

Minutes 

60 
Boil . 
Boil 

10 

10 

10 

10 
Boil . 
Boil . 



Samp 

Summer Squash . 

Tomatoes 

Hubbard or Winter Squash 

Pumpkin 

Creamed Turnips 
Mashed Turnips . 

Chestnuts 

Brussels Sprouts . 



In Cooker 






Hours 






PAGE 


6 




or more . 


150 


205 


I - 


3 






150 




I 


or more . 




151 


5 - 


8 






151 


5 - 


8 


. . . 




15^ 


ih- 


3 


or more . 




152 


li- 


3 


or more . 




153 


2 - 


4 






153 


I - 


z 






153 



BEEF 



Boil on Stove 




In Cooker 




Minutes 




Hours 


PAGE 


30 • 


Roast Beef .... 


2 or more 


229 


30 • 


Pot Roast . . . . 


9 or more 


• 94, 214 


30 • 


Beef a la Mode . . . 


9-12 , . 


• 95,215 


30-40 


Corned Beef .... 


10 -12 . . 


96 


10 


Boiled Dinner 


6 or more 


. 96, 216 


10 


Beef Stew a la Mode . . 


5 or more 


• • 97,215 


2 


Stuffed Rolled Steak 


5 or 6 . . 


98 


5 • 


Beef Stew with Dumplings 


li . . 


99 


Boil . . 


Irish Stew .... 


5 or more 


100, 215 


30 • 


Cannelon of Beef 


4 • ■ 


loi, 216 


5 • 


Meat Pie ..... 


2 or more 


lOI 


5 • 


Braised Beef Liver . 


10 or more 


102 


5 • 


Beef Kidney .... 


10 or more 


103 


5 


Stuffed Heart . . . 


10 or more 


104 


20-30 


Corned Tongue . 


10-12 


• • 105 


20-30 


Fresh Tongue 


10 or more 


105 


30 • 


. Braised Beef . . . . 


4 or more 


93 



MUTTON AND LAMB 



Boil on Stove 




In Cooker 




Minutes 




Hours 


PAGE 


20-30 


Boiled Leg or Shoulder . 


6 or more . 


108 


20-30 . . 


Braised Mutton . 


6 or more . 


108 


5 • • 


Stew 


4 or more . 


109 



INDEX AND TIME TABLE 301 



Boil on 


Stove 




In Cooker 




Minutes 




Hours 


PAGE 


5 




Chestnut Stew . . . . 


4 or more . 


109 


5 




Syrian Stew 


4 or more . 


no 


5 




Syrian Stuffed Cabbage . . 


5-6 . . . 


III 


15 




Casserole of Rice and Meat 


I to 3 ... 


112 


5 




OkraStew 


4 or more . 


. Ill, 216 


Boil . 




Ragout of Boiled Mutton 


I or more . 


113 



VEAL 



Boil on Stove 




In Cooker 




Minutes 




Hours 


PAGE 


Boil . . 


Breaded Cutlets . . . 


2-4 ... 


116 


Boil . 




Plain Cutlets .... 


2-4 ... 


116 


20 




Veal Loaf 


4 . . . 


117,217 


2 




Sweetbreads .... 


2 . . . 


118 


10 




Calf's Heart .... 


10 or more . 


118 


10 




Calf's Liver .... 


4 or more . 


118 


Boil . 




Veal Kidney .... 


2 or more . 


119 


20 




Calf's Head a la Terrapin 


9 or more . 


119 



PORK 



Boil on Stove 

Minutes 
20-30 

15 • 

15 and 5 
15 • 

5 • 



In Cooker 

Hours 
Boiled Ham or Shoulder . 7 or more 

Fresh Pork with Sauerkraut 8-10 or more 

Headcheese 10 and i or more 

Scrapple 10 and 4 or more 

Souse 10 and i or more 

Pickled Pigs' Feet ... 10 or more 



PAGE 

122 

123 
123 
124 
124 
125 







POULTRY 




Boil on 


Stove 




In Cooker 




Minutes 




Hours 


PAGE 


10 




Stewed Chicken . . . 


10 or more . 


13^ 


10 




Fricasseed Chicken . 


10 or more . 


131 


10 




Chicken Pie . . . 


10 or more . 


132 


10 




Curried Chicken . . 


10 or more . 


132 


10 




Creamed Chicken 


5 -10 or more . 


132 



302 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 



Boil on Stove 




In Cooker 




Minutes 




Hours 


PAGE 


30 in oven 


Braised Chicken . . 


2 J or more . 


133 


10 . . 


Jellied Chicken . . 


. 10 and 6 or more . 


133 


30 in oven 


Braised Duck 


2 1 or more . 


134 


30 in oven 


Braised Goose 


2ior more . 


134 


5 ■ • 


Potted Pigeons . . 


. 5-6" .. . 


134 



STEAMED BREADS AND PUDDINGS 



Boil on 


Stove 




In Cooker 






Minutes 




Hours 


PAGE 


30 




Boston Brown Bread 


5-6 . . 


. 155,218 


15-30 






Graham Pudding 


5 




156 


30 






Apple or Berry Pudding 


3 




156 


30 






Suet Pudding . . . 


5-6 




157,219 


30-60 






Rich Plum Pudding . . 


5 




158 


30 






Cranberry Pudding . 


5 


. 


159 


30 






Ginger Pudding . 


5 




160 


30 






St. James Pudding . . 


5 




160 


30 






Harvard Pudding 


5 




161 


20 






Swiss Pudding . . . 


3 




161 


Boil . 






Rice Pudding . . . 


3 - 4 or 


more 


. 162, 219 


10 






Indian Pudding . 


12 




. 162, 219 


Boil . 






Tapioca Custard . 


I J and I 




163 


Boil . 






Rice Custard .... 


1 1 and I 




163 


Boil . 

Warm 






Tapioca Fruit Pudding . 
Chocolate Bread Pudding 


I - 2 
I - 2 




164 

164, 220 


Warm 






Queen of Puddings . . 


I - 2 


. 


165 




• 


Steamed Cup Custard . 


h 




. . 166 


Boil . 




Compote of Rice and Fruit 


I - 3 




. . 166 






FRUITS 






Boil on 


Stove 




In Cooker 




Minutes 




Hours 


PAGE 


Boil . 




Apple Sauce .... 


I - 3 or more 


168, 220 


Boil . 




Stewed Apple in Syrup . 


■ 3-1^ • • 


168, 220 


Boil . 




Apple Jelly .... 


4 or more 


169 


Boil . 






Blackberry and Apple Jelly 


3 or 


more 


170 



INDEX AND TIME TABLE 



303 



Boil on S 


o\e 


In Cooker 








Minutes 


Hours PAGE 


Boil . 


. Stewed Blackberries . 


2.-3 170 


Boil . 


. . Currant Jelly .... 


4 or more 






• 171 


Boil . 


. Cranberry Jelly . 


I or 2 or more 






. 171 


Boil . 


. Cranberry Sauce . 


2^ or more 






. 172 


Boil . 


. Dried Fruits (soaked) . 


2 -12 






. 172 


Boil . 


. Rhubarb 


I - 3 or more 






• 173 


Boil . 


. Stewed Figs .... 


7 or more 






173 


Boil . 


. Sweet Pickled Peaches . 


I - 2 or more 






174 


Boil . 


. Sweet Pickled Pears . . 


I - 2 or more 






174 


Boil . 


. Sweet Pickled Crab Apples 


2-3 • • 






175 


Boil . 


. Sweet Pickled Melon Rind 


4-6 . . 






175 


Boil . 


. Sweet Pickled Plums 


1-2 






176 


10 


. Sweet Pickled Quinces . 


12 or more 






176 


Boil . 


. Orange Marmalade . . 


30 or more 






176 


About 30 . 


. Candied Orange Peelj . . 


20 or more . 






177 


Boil . 


. Canned Quinces . 


20 or more 






178 


Boil . . 


. Preserved Quinces . 


20 or more . 






179 


Boil . . 


. Citron and Ginger Preserve 


1 2 or more . 






179 


5 or rr 


ore Grape Jam 


3 or more . 






180 


Boil . . 


. Grape Juice 


5 or more . 






181 


Boil . . 


. Preserved Ginger 


Several days . 






181 



MISCELLANEOUS 



Boil on 


Stove 




Minutes 




8 




Hollandaise Sauce 


Boil . 




Tomato Sauce 


Boil . 




Fruit Sauce . 


Warm 




Brandy Sauce 


Warm 




Soft-Cooked Eggs 


Boil . 




Hard-Cooked Eggs 


Boil . 




Chocolate . . . 


Boil . 




Cocoa .... 


Boil . 




Shells .... 


Boil . 




Coffee .... 


Boil . 




Cereal Coffee . . 


Boil . 




Farina Balls . 



In Cooker 




Hours 


PAGE 


i . . . . 


. 1S5 


I or more . 


. 185 


J or more . 


. 186 


20 minutes . 


186 


10 minutes . 


190 


20 minutes . 


191 


5 min. to 5 hrs. 


191 


5 min. to 5 hrs. 


192 


8 or more . 


192 


1-3 .... 


193 


5 -10 or more . 


193 


2 or more . 


194 



304 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 



RECIPES FOR THE SICK 



Boil on Stove 


In Cooker 








Minutes 


Hours PAGE 


Boil . 


. Flaxseed Lemonade 


• • i - 2i 195 


Boil . 


. Farina Gruel . 


I - I ^ or more 


m 


Boil . 


. Imperial Granum 


I or more . 


196 


Scald . 


. Cracker Gruel 


. . I or more 






196 


5 


. Oatmeal Gruel . 


. . 8-10 . . 






196 


Boil . 


. Barley Flour Gruel 


I or more 






197 


Boil . 


. Indian Gruel . 


10 or more 






197 


Boil . 


. Arrowroot Gruel . 


I or more 






197 


Warm 


. Pasteurized Milk 


20 -30 minutes 






198 


Boil . 


. Rice and Milk . 


• • 1-3 • • 






199 


Boil . 


. Peptonized Beef Brot 


h . . 3 . . 






199 


Boil . 


. Peptonized Milk . 


10 -30 minutes 






200 



RECIPES FOR THE INSULATED OVEN 



Boil on Stove 

Minutes 
12 to 30 min. per pound 
12 to 25 min. per pound 
25 to 30 min. per pound 
20 min. per pound 

15 min. per pound 

15 to 20 min. per pound 

12 to 18 min. per pound 
20 to 30 minutes 
20 to 25 min. . 
15 to 20 mmutes 
15 to 20 minutes 

5 or 6 hours 

8 hours or more 
45 minutes 
30 minutes 
30 minutes 
30 minutes 
30 to 45 minutes 



PAGE 

Roast Beef 229 

Roast Mutton or Lamb .... 229 

Roast Veal 230 

Spareribs 230 

Brown Gravy for Roasts .... 230 

Roast Chicken 230 

Roast Goose 231 

Potato Stuffing 232 

Roast Leg of Venison 231 

Roast Wild Duck ....;. 232 

Grouse 232 

Roast Quail 233 

Roast Plover 233 

Potted Fish 233 

Pork and Beans 234 

Baked Potatoes 234 

Macaroni and Ham 235 

Macaroni and Cheese 236 

Scalloped Chicken and Mushrooms . 236 

Scalloped Oysters 235 



INDEX AND TIME TABLE 305 

Boil on Stove 

Minutes PAGE 

I hour . . Scalloped Tomatoes 236 

I h hours Scalloped Apple 237 

3 hours Rice Pudding 238 

15 minutes Pastry 238 

30 minutes Apple Pie 239 

30 minutes Berry Pie 240 

30 minutes Cherry or Plum Pie 240 

I hour Pumpkin Pie 240 

Lemon Pie 241 

30 to 45 minutes Baked Apples 241 

I hour Baked Spiced Apples ..... 242 

3 hours Baked Sweet Apples 243 

3 hours Baked Pears 242 

3 hours or more Baked Quinces 242 

50 to 60 minutes Bread 243 

20 minutes Rolls 244 

15 to 20 minutes Baking-Powder Biscuits .... 244 

40 minutes Cup Cake, loaf 245 

15 to 20 minutes Cup Cake, layers 245 

40 minutes Sour-Cream Cake 246 

40 minutes Apple-Sauce Cake 246 

50 to 60 minutes Sponge Cake 247 

1^ hours Plum Cake . . 247 

3 hours or more . . . Rich Fruit Cake . . . 248 



ALPHABETICAL INDEX 



Advantages of Fireless Cooker, 6 to 9. 
Albumen, Temperature of Cooking, 

272. 
Aluminum, Detection of, 266. 

Utensils, 14. 
Appendix, 257 to 276. 
Apple Jelly, 169. 

or Berry Pudding Steamed, 156. 

Pie, 239. 

Sauce, 168, 220. 
Cake, 246. 

Water, 200. 
Apples, Baked, 241. 

Scalloped, 237. 

Stewed, 168, 220. 
Articles Required for Making Insul- 
ated Oven, 228. 
Arrowroot Gruel, 197. 
Asparagus, 136. 

Soup, 68, 209. 

Bacteriology of Insulating Boxes, 267 
Baked Apples, 241. 
Spiced, 242. 
Sweet, 243. 

Bean Soup, 74. 

Pears, 242. 

Potatoes, 234. 

Quinces, 242. 
Baking Powder Biscuits, 244. 
Balls, Codfish, 85, 213 

Egg> 79- 

Farina, 194. 

Forcemeat, 79. 
Barley Flour Gruel, 197. 

Water, 201. 
Barrel Used for a Cooker, 10. 
Beans, Dried Lima, 140. 
Navy, 141. 

Fresh Shelled, 139. 



Beans, continued 

Lima, 140. 

Puree of Lima, 73. 

String, 140. 
Bean Soup, 72, 210. 

Soup, Black, 72, 211. 

Soup, Baked, 74. 
Beef, 89 

A la Mode, 95, 215. 

Broth, 63. 

Broth, Peptonized, 199. 

Braised, 93. 

Care of, 92. 

Cannelon of, loi, 216. 

Cooking, 92. 

Corned, 96. 

Cuts of, 91. 

Diagram of Cuts, 90. 

Kidney, 103. 

Liver, Braised, 102. 

Other Parts Used for Food, 91 „ 

Roast, 229. 

Stew a la Mode, 97, 21 5. 

Stew with Dumplings, 99. 

To Select, 89. 

Uses of Different Cuts, 89. 
Beet Greens, 142. 
Beets, 139. 
Berry Pie, 240. 

Pudding, Steamed Apple or, 156. 
Bind Soup, To, 59. 
Biscuits, Baking Powder, 244. 
Bisques, 58. 

Blackberries, Stewed, 170. 
Blackberry and Apple Jelly, 170. 
Black Bean Soup, 74. 
Blanch Nuts, To, 188. 
Boiled Dinner, 96, 216. 

Dressing, 190. 

Fish, 83. 



307 



3o8 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 



Bouillon, 57, 62. 
Boston Brown Bread, 155, 218. 
Box for Making Cookers, 9. 
Braised Beef, 93. 

Beef's Liver, 102. 

Chicken, 133. 

Duck, 134. 

Goose, 134. 
Brandy Sauce, 186. 
Bread, 243. 

Boston Brown, 155, 218. 
Breads and Puddings, Steamed, 154. 
Breakfast Cereals, 52. 
Breakfast Food, Pettijohn's, 56, 206. 
Broth, Beef, 63. 

Peptonized, 199. 

Mutton, 63, 207. 
Broths, 57. 
Brown Betty, 237. 

Bread, Boston, 1 55, 218. 

Gravy for Roasts, 230. 

Sauce, 184,214. 

Stock, 57,60, 207. 
Brussels Sprouts, 153. 
Buttered Crumbs, 187. 

Cabbage, 137. 

Stuffed, Syrian, III. 
Cake, Apple Sauce, 246. 

Cup, 245. 

Plum, 247. 

Rich Fruit, 248. 

Sour Cream, 246. 

Sponge, 247. 
Calf's Head a la Terrapin, 119. 

Heart, 118. 

Liver, 118. 
Candied Orange or Grape Fruit 

Peel, 177. 
Canned Quinces, 178. 
Cannelon of Beef, 101,216. 
Cans,to Sterilize, 189. 
Cape Cod Turkey, 87. 
Caper Sauce, 184. 
Caramel, 51. 
Carrots, 138. 
Careof Poultry, 128. 
Casserole of Fish, 87. 

of Rice and Meat, 112. 



Cauliflower, 137. 

a la Hollandaise, 138. 

auGratin, 138. 
Celery, Stewed, 142. 

Soup, Cream of, 68, 208. 
Cereal Coffee, 193. 
Cereals, Breakfast, 52. 
Chard, 141. 

Cheese, Macaroni and, 236. 
Cherry Pie, 240. 
Chemistry of Utensils, 263. 
Chestnuts, Italian, 153. 

To Shell, 109. 
Chestnut Stew, 109. 
Chicken, Braised, 133. 

Creamed, 132. 

Curried, 132. 

Fricasseed, 131. 

Jellied, 133. 

Pie, 132. 

Roast, 230. 

Stewed, 131. 

To Cut Up, 129. 

To Draw, 128. 

To Truss, 130. 
Chocolate, 191. 

Bread Pudding, 164, 220. 

Cup Cake, 245. 
Chowder, Clam, 76. 

Connecticut, 76, 213. 

Fish, 75, 213. 
Citron and Ginger Preserve, 179. 

Sweet Pickle, 175. 
Clam Chowder, 76. 

or Oyster Stew, 77. 
Cloth Lining for Cooker, 18. 
Cocoa, 192. 

Shells, 192. 
Codfish Balls, 85, 213. 

Creamed, Salt, No. 1,84. 

Creamed, Salt, No. 2, 84, 213. 
Cold Foods, To Keep, 35. 
Coffee, 193. 

Cereal, 193. 
Compote of Rice and Fruit, 166. 
Connecticut Chowder, 76, 213. 
Conductivity, 259. 
Consomme, 57, 64. 
Convection, 259. 



ALPHABETICAL INDEX 



309 



Cooking Temperatures, 6. 
of Starches, 6, 270. 
of Proteids, 272. 
Cereal, 274. 
Egg, 272. 
Meat, 274. 
Cooking for Two, 40. 
Corn, 139. 
Corned Beef, 96. 
Tongue, 105. 
Corn Meal Mush, 54, 204. 
Covers Fastened on Utensils, 33. 
Crab Apple Sweet Pickle, 175. 
Crabs, 298. 
Cracker Gruel, 196. 
Crackers, Crisp, 80. 
Cracked Wheat, 55, 205. 
Cranberry Jelly, 171. 

Pudding, Steamed, 159. 
Sauce, 172. 
Creamed Chicken, 132. 
Mushrooms, 145. 
Salt Codfish, No. 1,84. 
Salt Codfish, No. 2, 84, 213. 
Turnips, 152. 
Cream of Celery Soup, 68, 208. 

Wheat, 56, 206. 
Creams, Frozen, to Keep, 35. 
Cream Soups, 57. 
Creamy Potatoes, 147,216. 
Creole Soups, 69, 208. 
Crisp Crackers, 80. 
Crocks for Refrigerating Box, 37. 
Croustades, 193. 
Croutons, 80. 
Crust for Meat Pie, 102. 
Crumbs, Buttered, 188. 
Cup Cake, 245. 
Cup Custard, Steamed, 166. 
Currant Jelly, 171. 
Cushions for Fireless Cookers, 11. 
Custard, Steamed Cup, 166. 

Tapioca or Rice, 163. 
Cutlets, Breaded Veal, 116. 

Plain, Veal, 116. 
Cylinder, 17. 

Density of Foods, Experiment, 262. 
Diagram of Cuts of Beef, 90. 



Diagram of Cuts, continued 

Lamb or Mutton, 107. 
Pork, 121. 

To Cut up a Chicken, 1 29 
To Truss a Chicken, 131 
Digestibility of Fireless Cooking, 9. 
Dinner, Boiled, 96, 216. 
Directions for Making Fireless 

Cookers, 9. 
Drawn Butter Sauce, 184. 
Dressing, Boiled, 190. 
Dried Fruits, 172. 

Beans, Lima, 140. 
Beans, Navy, 141. 
Duck, Braised, 134. 

Roast, Wild, 232. 
Dumplings for Stew, 99. 

Egg Balls, 79. 

Sauce, 184. 
Eggs, Hard-Cooked, 191. 
Soft-Cooked, No. i, 190. 
Soft-Cooked, No. 2, 190. 
Excelsior, 5. 
. Experiment on Bacteriology of Fire- 
less Cookers, 267-270. 
Chemistry of Utensils, 263. 
Conductivity, 259. 
Convection, 259. 
Cooking Temperatures, 270. 
Proteids, 272. 
Cereal, 274. 
Egg, 272. 
Meat, 274. 
Starches, 270. 
Density of Foods, 262. 
Detection of Poisonous Metals, 
Tin, 265. 
Aluminum, 266. 
Effect of Evaporation on Tem- 
perature, 263. 
Efficiency of Refrigerating Boxes, 

266. 
Insulation, 257,261. 
Radiation, 260. 

Farina, 56,206. 
Balls, 194. 
Gruel, 195. 



310 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 



Fastening Covers on Utensils, 33. 
Figs, Stewed, 173, 
Fireless Cooker, the, 3. 

Advantages of, 6. 

Army Use of, 202. 

Barrel Used for, 10. 

Box Used for, 9, 

Directions for Making, 9, 

For Large Quantities, 203. 

Ice Box Used for, 10. 

Possibilities of, 3,4. 

Practical Suggestions for Using, 

Principle of, 5. 

Trunk Used for, 10. 
Fish, 81. 

Balls, Codfish, 85, 213. 

Boiled, 83. 

Care of, 8 1. 

Casserole of, 87. 

Chowder, 75,213. 

Cooking of, 82. 

Salt Cod, Creamed, No. 1,84. 
Creamed, No. 2,84, 213. 

Sauce for, 185. 

Seasons, etc. 

Fresh Water, 82. 
Salt Water, 83. 

Souffle, Salt, 86. 

To Clean, 8 1. 

To Skin, 82. 

To Tell Fresh, 8 1. 
Flavouring Materials, 49-51. 
Flaxseed Lemonade, 195. 
Forcemeat Balls, 79. 
Fresh Shelled Beans, 139. 
Fresh Tongue, 105. 
Fricasseed Chicken, 131. 

Mushrooms, 145. 
Fruit Cake, Rich, 248. 

Sauce, 186. 
Fruits, 168. 

Dried, 172. 

Garnishes, Soup, 78. 
Ginger, Preserved, 181. 

Pudding, 160. 
Goose, Braised, 134. 

Roast, 231. 



Graham Pudding, 156. 

Grape Fruit Peel, Candied, 177. 

Jam, 180. 

Juice, 181. 
Gravy for Roasts, Brown, 230. 
Green Pea Soup, 74, 212. 
Greens, Beet, 142. 
Grits, Hominy, 55, 205. 
Grouse, 232. 
Gruel, Arrowroot, 197. 

Barley Flour, 197. 

Cracker, 196. 

Farina, 195. 

Indian Meal, 197. 

Oatmeal, 196. 

Ham or Shoulder, Boiled, 122. 
Hard-Cooked Eggs, 191. 
Hard Sauce, 185. 
Harvard Pudding, 161. 
Hasp, II, 
Hay, 6. 
Hay-Box, 3. 
Head-Cheese, 123. 
Heart, Beef's Stuffed, 104. 

Calf's, 118. 
Hinges, 11. 

HoUandaise Sauce, 185. 
Hominy Grits, 55, 205. 
Hubbard Squash, 151. 

Ice Cream, to Keep, 35. 
Imperial Granum, 196. 
Indian Gruel, 197. 

Pudding, 162,219. 
Insulate an Oven, To, 222. 
Insulated Oven, The, 221. 
Insulation, Experiments, 

Effect of Different Thicknesses, 
261. 

Test of Materials for, 257. 
Irish Stew, 100. 215. 

Jam, Grape, 180. 
Jars, to Sterilize, 189. 
Jellied Chicken, 133. 
Jelly, Apple, 169. 

Blackberry and Apple, 170. 



ALPHABETICAL INDEX 



311 



Jelly, continued 

Cranberry, 171. 

Currant, 171. 
Juice, Grape, 181. 
Julienne Soup, 70, 210. 

Kidney, Beef, 103. 
Veal, 119. 

Lamb and Mutton, 106. 
Cuts of, 106. 
Diagram of Cuts, 107. 
Roast, 229. 

Table of Cuts and Uses, 107. 
Other Parts Used for 
Food, 107. 
Leg of Mutton, Boiled, 108 . 

Braised, 108. 
Lemonade, Flaxseed, 195. 
Lemon Pie, 241. 
Lima Beans, 140. 
Dried, 140. 
Puree of, 73,212. 
Liver, Braised Beef's, 102 

Calf's, 118. 
Loaf, Salmon, 86. 

Veal, 117,217. 
Lobster, 298. 

Macaroni, 143. 

and Cheese, 236. 

and Ham, 235. 

Italienne, 143,217. 

Milanaise, 144. 

Soup, 70, 209. 
Marmalade, Orange, 176. 
Mashed Turnip, 153. 
Materials for Packing Cookers, 11, 
257. 

for Utensils, 14. 

Needed for Home-made Cookers, 

25- 
Measures, Table of Weights and, 45. 
Measuring, 43. 
Meat Pie, loi 

Crust for, 102. 
Menus, 250-255. 
Method of Packing a Hay-Box, 15. 

Using the Oven, 224. 



Milk, Pasteurized, 198. 

Peptonized, 200. 

Rice and, 199. 
Mineral Wool, 5, 11,21. 
Mock Turtle Soup, No. i , 65. 

No. 2, 66, 208. 
Mush, Corn Meal, 54, 204. 
Mushrooms, Creamed, 145. 

Fricasseed, 145. 

Scalloped Chicken and, 236. 
Mutton, Cuts, 106. 

Diagram of Cuts, 107. 

Lamb and, 106. 

Leg of. Boiled, 108. 
Braised, 108. 

Ragout of Cold, 113. 

Roast, 229. 

Stew, 109. 

Table of Uses of Cuts, 
107. 
Other parts Used, 107. 

Navy Beans, Dried, 141. 
Noodles, 78, 145. 
Nutmeg Sauce, 187. 
Nuts, Salted, 188. 
To Blanch, 188. 

Oatmeal Gruel, 196. 

Steel Cut, 56, 206. 
Oats, Rolled, 54, 204. 
Okra Stew, 111,216. 
Onions, 146. 

Orange Marmalade, 176. 
Orange or Grape Fruit Peel, Can- 
died, 177. 
Oven, Articles Required for Mak- 
ing, 228. 

Method of Using, 224. 

The Insulated, 221. 

To Insulate, 222. 
Ox-Tail Soup, 70, 209. 
Oysters, Creamed, 88. 

Scalloped, 235. 

Stew, 77. 

Packing Materials, 5, 1 1 . 
Pail, Portable Insulating, 32. 
Pails, 13. 



312 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 



Paper Insulation, 5,11. 

Lining for Cooker, 19. 

Test for Oven, 225. 
Pasteurized Milk, 198. 
Pastry for Two Crusts, 238. 
Peaches, Sweet Pickled, 174. 
Pears, Baked, 242. 

Sweet Pickled, 174. 
Peas, 148. 
Pea Soup, Green, 74, 212. 

Split, 77, 212. 
Peptonized, Beef Broth, 199. 

Milk, 200. 
Pettijohn's Breakfast Food, 56, 

206. 
Pickled Pig's Feet, 125. 
Pickles, Sweet, 174. 
Pie, Apple, 239. 

Berry, 240. 
Pie, Cherry or Plum, 240. 

Chicken, 132. 

Lemon, 241. 

Meat, loi. 

Pumpkin, 240. 
Pigeons, Potted, 134. 
Pilaf, Turkish, 149,218. 
Plover, Roast, 233. 
Plum Cake, 247. 

Pie, 240. 

Pudding, Rich, 158. 
Plums, Sweet Pickled, 176. 
Poisonous Metals, Experiment, 

265. 
Pork, 120. 

and Beans, 149,218,234. 

Diagram of Cuts, 121. 

Fresh, with Sauerkraut, 123, 

To Select, 122. 

Uses of Cuts, 121. 
Portable Insulating Pail, 32. 
Potatoes, Baked, 234. 

Boiled, 146. 

Creamy, 147,216. 

Soup, 75, 211. 

Stewed, 147, 

Stuffing, 232. 
PotRoast, 94, 214. 
Potted Fish, 233. 

Pigeons, 134. 



Poultry, 126. 

Care of, 128. 

Stuffing for, 131. 

To Cut up, 129. 

To Draw, 129. 

To Truss, 130. 
Practical Suggestions for Using the 

Cooker, 25. 
Preserved Citron and Ginger, 
179. 

Quinces, 179. 
Proportions, Table of, 47. 
Prunes, Sweet Pickled, 175. 
Pudding, Chocolate Bread, 164. 

Cranberry, Steamed, 159. 

Ginger, 160. 

Graham, 156. 

Harvard, 161. 

Indian, 162,219. 

Pan, 13 
Puddings, Queen, of 165. 

Rice, 162, 219, 238. 

Rich Plum, 158. 

Steamed Apple or Berry, 156. 

St. James, 160. 

Suet, 157,219. 

Swiss, 161. 

Tapioca Fruit, 164. 
Puddings, Steamed Breads and, 

154- 
Pumpkin, 152. 

Pie, 240. 
Purees, 58. 

Quail, Roast, 233. 
Quantity of Food Cooked, 26. 
Queen of Puddings, 165. 
Quinces, Baked, 242. 

Canned, 178. 

Preserved, 179. 

Sweet Pickled, 176. 

Radiation, Experiment, 260. 
Ragout of Cold Mutton, 113. 
Ready-made Cookers, 23. 

To Select, 24. 
Recipes for Large Quantities, 
202. 

For the Sick, 195. 



ALPHABETICAL INDEX 



3^3 



Refrigerating Box, 36. 

Efficiency, Experiment, 261. 

Made with Bread Box, 39. 
Crocks, 37. 
Pail, 39. 
Rice, No. 1, 148. 

No. 2, 149, 206. 

and Milk, 199. 

Custard, Tapioca or, 163. 

Pudding, 162, 219, 238. 

Savoury, 149. 
Rich Plum Pudding, 158. 
Rhubarb, Stewed, 173. 
Roast Beef, 229. 

Chicken, 230. 

Duck, Wild, 232. 

Goose, 231, 

Grouse, 232. 

Mutton or Lamb, 229. 

Plover, 233. 

Quail, 233. 

Veal, 230. 

Venison, Leg of, 231. 

Wild Duck, 232. 
Rolled Oats, 54, 204. 

Steak, Stuffed, 98. 
Rolls, 244. 

Salmon Loaf, 86. 
Salt Fish Souffle, 86. 
Salted Nuts, 188. 
Samp, 150,205. 
Sauce, Brown, 184, 214. 

Brandy, 186, 

Caper, 184. 

Drawn Butter, 184. 

Egg, 184. 

for Fish, 185. 

for Vegetables, 183. 

Fruit, 186. 

Hard, 185. 

HoUandaise, 185. 

Nutmeg, 187. 

Tomato, 185. 

Vanilla, 187. 

White, 183. 
Savoury Rice, 149. 
Sawdust, 5, 22, 37. 
Sauerkraut, 123. 



Scalloped Apple, 237. 

Chicken and Mushrooms, 236. 
Oysters, 235. 
Tomatoes, 236. 
Scrapple, 124 

Sealing Wax for Bottles, 181. 
Seasoning Materials, 49-51- 
Sick, Recipes for the, 1 95. 
Shell, Italian Chestnuts, to, 189. 
Shelled Beans, Fresh, 139. 
Shells Cocoa, 192. 
Shoulder of Pork, Boiled, 122. 
Slate for Recording Time, 30. 
Soft-Cooked Eggs, No. i, 190. 

No. 2, 190. 
Souffle, Salt Fish, 86. 
Soup, Asparagus, 68, 209. 
Baked Bean, 74, 212. 
Bean, 72, 210. 
Black Bean, 72,211. 
Cream of Celery, 68, 208. 
Creole, 69, 208. 
Garnishes, 78-80. 
Green Pea, 74, 212. 
Julienne, 70, 210. 
Macaroni, 70, 209. 
Making, 58. 
Mock Turtle, No. i, 65. 

No. 2,66,208. 
Ox-Tail, 70, 209. 
Potato, 75, 21 1. 
Split Pea, 77, 212. 
Sticks, 80. 
Stock, Brown, 57. 

Brown, No. 1,60,207. 
No. 2, 61. 
To Clear, 59. 
To Make, 58. 
To Remove Fat from, 59. 
White, 57. 
No. 1,61. 
No. 2, 62, 207. 
Tomato, with Stock, 69, 210. 

without Stock, 73, 211. 
Vegetable, with Stock, 67, 209. 

without Stock, 71, 210. 
Cream, 57. 
To Bind, 58. 
Sour Cream Cake, 246. 



314 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK 



Souse, 124. 

Space Adjuster, 22. 

Spaghetti, 144. 

Spare Ribs, 230. 

Spiced Apples, Baked, 242. 

Spinach, 142. 

Split-Pea Soup, 77, 212. 

Sponge Cake, 247. 

Squash, Hubbard, or Winter, 151. 

Summer, 150. 
Starch, Cooking Temperature, 6, 270. 
Steak, Stuffed, Rolled, 98. 
Steamed Breads and Puddings, 41, 
154. 

General Directions, 154. 
Steamed Apple or Berry Pudding, 156 

Cranberry Pudding, 159. 

Cup Custard, 166. 
Steel Cut Oatmeal, 50, 206. 
Sterilize Jars or Cans, To, 189. 
Stew, Beef a la Mode, 97, 215. 

Beef, with Dumplings, 99. 

Chestnut, 109. 

Irish, 100,215. 

Mutton, 109. 

Okra, 111,216. 

Oyster or Clam, 77. 

Syrian (Yakhni), no. 
Stewed Apples in Syrup, 168, 220. 

Blackberries, 170. 

Celery, 142. 

Chicken, 131. 

Cranberries, 172. 

Figs, 173. 

Potatoes, 147. 

Rhubarb, 173. 

Tomatoes, 151. 
St. James Pudding, 160. 
String Beans, 140. 
Stuffed Cabbage, Syrian, in. 

Heart, 104. 

Rolled Steak, 98. 
Stuffing for Poultry, 131. 

Potato, 232. 
Suet Pudding, 157, 219. 
Suggestions for Using a Fireless 

Cooker, 25. 
Summer Squash, 150. 
Sweet Apples, Baked, 243. 



Sweetbreads, 118. 

Creamed, 118. 
Sweet Pickles, 174. 

Crabapples, 175. 

Peaches, 174. 

Pears, 174. 

Plums, 176. 

Prunes, 175. 

Quinces, 176. 

Watermelon Rind, or Citron, 

'75- 
Swiss Pudding, 161. 
Syrian Stew (Yakhni), 1 10. 
Syrian Stuffed Cabbage, in. 

Tableof Cutsof Beef,9i. 

Mutton and Lamb, 107. 
Veal, 115. 
Flavourings for Sweet Dishes, 

50- 
Materials for Home - made 

Cooker, 25. 
Seasonings, 50. 
Seasons of Fresh Water Fish, 

Salt Water Fish, 83. 
Proportions, 47. 
Weights and Measures, 45. 
Tapioca or Rice Custard, 163. 
Temperatures of Cooking Starches, 
6, 270. 

Proteids, 6, 272. 
Cereal, 274. 

Egg, 272-^ 
Terrapin, Calf's Head a la, 119. 
Time for Cooking in Cooker, 29, 41. 

On Stove, 28. 
Tin, Detection of, 265. 
Thermos Bottle, 5, 260. 
To Insulate an Oven, 222. 
Tomatoes, Scalloped, 236. 

Stewed, 151. 
Tomato Sauce, 185. 

Soup, with Stock, 69, 210. 
Without Stock, 73, 211. 
Tongue, Corned, 105. 

Fresh, 105. 
To Tie Cover on Utensil, 33. 
To Truss a Chicken, 130. 



ALPHABETICAL INDEX 



315 



Turkish Pilaf, 149,218. 
Turnips, Creamed, 152. 

Mashed, 153. 
Turtle Soup, Mock, No. i, 65. 

No. 2, 66, 208. 

Using Insulated Oven, Method of, 

224. 
Utensils, Material for, 14. 

Shape, 13. 

Size, 14,40. 

Vacuum Insulation, 5. 
Vanilla Sauce, 187. 
Veal, 114. 

Age, 114. 

Cooking of, 115. 

Cutlets, Breaded, 116. 
Plain, 116. 

Diagram of Cuts, 115. 

Kidney, 119. 

Loaf, 117,217. 

Roast, 230. 

Season for, 114. 



Veal, continued 

Tableof Cuts, 115. 

Other Parts used, 115. 
Vegetables, 136. 

Directions for Cooking, 136. 

Sauce for, 183. 
Vegetable Soup with Stock, 67, 209. 

without Stock, 71,210. 
Venison, Roast Leg of, 23 1 . 

Water, Apple, 200. 

Barley, 201. 
Watermelon Rind Sweet Pickle, 175. 
Wax for Sealing Bottles, 181. 
Wheat, Cracked, 55, 205. 

Cream of, 56, 206. 
Wheatlet, 56, 206. 
White Sauce, 183. 

Stock, No. I, 61. 
No. 2, 62, 207. 
Wild Duck, Roast, 232. 
Winter Squash, 151. 
Wool, 5, 11,21. 

Mineral 5, 11, 21. 



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